ROCKFORD, Mich.- For the first time ever, the Rockford High School Marching Band will walk through New York City during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
More than a thousand people showed up to Rockford High School on Sunday night to send off more than 300 students headed to the Big Apple.
The students have been waiting for over a year to go on this trip. They found out they earned a spot in the famous parade in April 2016. Since then, they've been working overtime for their big performance.
“We rehearse two days a week after school plus all day Saturday," Rose Sears, a senior, tells FOX 17.
A lot of logistical planning went into the trip. The students will be seeing two Broadway shows, taking a trip to Ground Zero, and giving a performance in Central Park. The band members credit all of the planning to their parents and faculty.
“Lots of lists and lots of prayers, too and lots of help. Lots of moms go into helping with the uniforms. There’s so much planning that it’s amazing," mother Robin O'Dett tells FOX 17.
Seven charter buses are taking 305 students and two additional buses are taking friends and family. The group is traveling with about 265 instruments. An additional 26-foot truck was needed for the students' suitcases.