Carolina Band In Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Every year the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade airs on NBC on Thanksgiving morning. It’s become a family tradition for a lot of us to watch the parade just as we are getting ready to prepare the Thanksgiving Day meal. There are a lot of things to see this year in the parade, including 22 balloons, 34 floats, and 11 marching bands.
Many bands across the country, from high school to college, compete to be a marching band in The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year, there are bands from Arkansas, New York, Sioux Falls, and Massachusetts, to name a few.
It is the Carolina Band that we are most excited about this year from Columbia, South Carolina, which is an hour-and-a-half drive from Charlotte and a three-hour drive from Fayetteville.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy’s. The parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit. The three-hour parade is held in Manhattan, ending outside Macy’s Herald Square, and takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1953.
History Of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
In 1924, store employees marched to Macy’s Herald Square, the flagship store on 34th Street, dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands, and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first parade, Santa was enthroned on the Macy’s balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then crowned “King of the Kiddies.” With an audience of over 250,000 people, the parade was such a success that Macy’s declared it would become an annual event, despite media reports only barely covering the first parade.
The Carolina Band
On the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade website, the Carolina Band is described like this: “Steeped in rich tradition, ‘The Mighty Sound of the Southeast’ performs powerful, exciting, and entertaining music from traditional school songs to pop music, including rock, jazz, and music from movies & television.”
Carolina Band History
Founded in 1920 as a student-led group of approximately 20 students, the Carolina Band has grown to over 375 students selected by competitive audition & representing over 65 academic majors. Students in the Carolina Band hail from 23 U.S. states and represent virtually every college & school on the USC Columbia campus, with numerous Honors College students & Capstone Scholars.
Thankful
As we find ourselves being thankful this week, having a band from the Carolinas is just one more thing we can nod our head to with pride this holiday season.
