By Alex Hunt

On May 1, members of Central’s marching band were told they were going to perform an old show to be filmed for the Kelly and Michael show because of Mr. Stojkovic’s accomplishments. Members were instructed to report to the band room during fourth hour SRT; what they encountered was not what they expected.

The band found themselves in the presence of an unexpected guest in a suit.

“The songs we were supposed to be playing, we haven’t played in a while – but we were still excited and ready to perform,” said junior Alex Walter, “But when we got there, the man in the suit asked us why we thought we were all here,” he continued, “When we all responded with ‘because of Stojk’ he replied, ‘good guess.’”

The man happened to be a representative and creative director of the Macy’s Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. In the beginning of the meeting, he spoke to the students without disclosing any information about who he truly was. At the very end of his suspenseful speech, he finally told everyone that they were going to perform in the 2015 parade!

The celebration then started! Halls began to fill with smiling faces and confetti as friends congratulated each other and enjoyed a pizza party.

Being a part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a huge accomplishment for Central’s marching band. This is because only five to six high school marching bands and four to five college marching bands are invited from all over the country to be a part of the show.

Central’s marching band sent a video to the creative director a few months before his visit. The video depicted the many accomplishments of the band, including their 2010 State Championship victory and other recent accomplishments like Semifinals and State Championships in 2013-14. The creative director told the students that Central’s video was the best of all videos submitted.

Only the sophomores and freshmen will still be in high school when the parade happens, but the invitation is a great feat for all band members this year.

“It’s definitely a team effort,” junior Hunter Thackum said, “I won’t be there in 2015, but at least I was part of Semifinals and State Championships this year.”