If you happen to be tuning into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this Thursday, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the Trabuco Hills High School Thundering Mustangs Marching Unit, the only California high school selected to participate in this year’s historic parade.
Having earned ten class championships and a 2017 appearance at the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C, the Mustangs have certainly earned their spot at this year’s event. But, this isn’t their first invitation. In March of 2019, the band was selected to perform during the 2020 parade, but the invite was deferred to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a recent episode of the district’s podcast “Saddleback Valley Shares,” Band Director Brad Pollock said the band applied over three years ago for the parade and that Thursday’s performance is a culmination of hard work from not only the students but their families.
“We’ve been rehearsing for this moment for the last two and a half years and it’s finally here,” said Pollock. “We’re going to bring high energy, we are going to bring California and we are going to represent our school, our district and our community, and bring them what they want to see.”
Each year, the Macy’s Parade Band Committee looks for bands that have stage presence, as well as musical and marching abilities. The Mustangs were selected as one of 10 bands to march in the 95th annual holiday show and will be performing the song “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
Meanwhile, as the Orange County Register reported, 16 cheerleaders and dancers from El Modena High School in Orange have been selected to showcase their talents with hundreds of teens from other cheer and dance troupes as part of the parade’s Spirit of America groups, which will perform a common choreography.
According to “Today,” it takes hundreds of people to prepare for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, including painters, carpenters, sculptors, welders, animators, designers, electricians and engineers who’ve all worked more than 8,000 hours to create the colorful floats and gigantic balloons. This year’s two-and-and half mile parade route will also feature 15 character balloons, 28 floats and iconic “heritage” balloons.
The parade will air on Nov. 25 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on NBC and also will be available on Peacock and Telemundo at the same time. An additional encore of the parade will air from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.