Newsome’s band has been busy lately, practicing for sports game performances and even the 2016 Macy’s Day Parade.

Though when asked if preparations for the event had already begun, Junior student Victoria Bent, Percussionist, replied “We have not started yet. Our main focus right now is BOA, which is Bands of America. We’ll start in the summer.” Bands of America is a high school marching band championship, and this year Newsome plans to go for the gold.

Now, while this has taken up most of the band’s time and preparations for the Macy’s Day Parade are not yet underway, it doesn’t mean they aren’t working hard. Bent shares that “Band Camp over the summer was 12 hours a day for two weeks, and percussion was seven a day for a week. Saturday practices are also seven hours and weekday rehearsals are three hours.”

That’s a lot of practice time when taking into account the actual length of the performance, which is about five to fifteen minutes. Though, it’s all for the sake of continuous fluid performances.

Newsome’s band is one of the best in the district and has been repeatedly commended for their performances by, taking home top honors at local, regional, and national competitions.

This type of success in the competitive band world is what got them to be noticed by Macy’s Day Parade officials in the first place, which is a great honor. The Newsome High School Band is one of only ten bands that are to be performing at the event.

The Macy’s Day Parade is a Thanksgiving floating balloon parade began by the large store corporation, Macy’s. Celebrities, musicians, and actors have even performed or been featured in the event. The Macy’s Day Parade has been celebrated since 1924, and the upcoming parade will be its 91st year running.