By Ashley Kaplan

The Walled Lake Central Marching Band will be performing at the annual Macy’s Day Parade in New York City on Thanksgiving morning.

The 193 band members, their parents, and  their equipment will all depart on Sunday, November 22 from Walled Lake Central. They will travel by bus to New York and will return to Walled Lake late Saturday, November 28 after the festivities are over.

The band found out they were going to the Macy’s Day Parade in 2014. “I had goosebumps and chills,” junior Grayson Combs said when thinking back to when he found out about the parade as a freshman.

Since then, the band has put in a lot of hours while preparing for Macy’s. They work for hours after school and on weekends. Recently, the band finalized the portion of the show that they will perform on live television in front of millions of people. The band gets one minute and thirty seconds of national television exposure.

“It was nerve racking but very accomplishing that we can work towards these great experiences together as a band,” Senior Tara Geoffrey said.

While in New York, the band will get to spend a lot of time together. They are going to see the musical Aladdin on Broadway, the Rockettes, and much more.

“I’m looking forward to bonding with 190 of my closest friends in New York and making memories that will last a lifetime,” senior Madison Stump said.

The men and women in the band are all excited for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

“[I was] amazed that we got this opportunity” senior Kyra Diatikar said. The band is working extremely hard and are very humble about getting this opportunity.