BROOKINGS – Three students from Brookings High School will perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – the first time in nearly two decades that a Brookings student musician has done so.
The upcoming trip to the East Coast is not a cheap one, so the trio is seeking donations to help with their travel expenses.
BHS Junior Abigayle Davis and seniors Patrick Powers and Dylan Herrig will be in New York City from Nov. 23 to Nov. 29, performing in the Macy’s Great American Marching Band on Nov. 28.
Powers’ father has established a GoFundMe page for the trio at https://www.gofundme.com/f/bobcats-on-broadway. They have a goal to raise $5,000 by Nov. 15, which will “cover virtually everything” for all three of them, Powers said. Currently, they have roughly $300 raised.
According to the fundraising page, the students are doing this of their own volition and are paying for everything out of their own pocket. None of the expenses will be covered by the Bobcat Band Boosters program, the parent organization supporting music education at the high school, and any funds raised beyond $5,000 will go to the Band Booster program.
BHS Marching Band director Ronald Stary received an email from Ron Simmons of marching.com (a website dedicated to marching band performances and scores) asking for students from South Dakota to apply. The Macy’s Great American Marching Band consists of high school students from every state, and the band needed representation from South Dakota, Stary said.
Davis, Powers and Herrig recently filmed two videos of themselves for the application process. One video was of their marching capabilities, and another showcased their musical capabilities with a four-minute solo. Brookings has not had any students in Macy’s Great American Marching Band since the early 2000s.
Powers said that the application process “was a little stressful; we had less than a week” until it was due.
The students will have a variety of sight-seeing and other activities to take part in when in New York. Davis said they’ll go to a musical, see some of the major sights in the area, have a large Thanksgiving feast with the other band members and go to a dance complete with a D.J.
Herrig said – begrudgingly – that everyone in the band has a 2 a.m. call time to do a television test run down the 3-mile parade route before the actual performance.
The parade travels down Broadway in front of 3 million spectators along the parade route, and it’s seen by 50 million viewers on television.
“I think they’re a great representation of the program,” Stary said of the students, who will join 250 other musicians in the Macy’s Great American Marching Band.
“It’s just a great opportunity for a lot of us,” Powers said. “It’s an opportunity for all of us to make our mark and show that South Dakota isn’t just a state where people ride buffalos to school.”
For more information, visit the Brookings High School Marching Band Facebook page or visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/bobcats-on-broadway to donate.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be televised live on NBC, starting at 9 a.m. ET Thanksgiving Day.
Contact Matthew Rhodes at mrhodes@brookingsregister.com.
