Fishers High School Marching Band to Perform in the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Writer / Renée Larr
Photography / Erin Goodwin
The holidays are full of traditions, and one time-honored tradition around Thanksgiving is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The annual
event in New York City has brought together balloons, floats, performers, and marching bands that have delighted crowds of people watching live and at home since 1924. The Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band is delighted to be ‘Marching to Manhattan’ in the 2023 parade.
The band learned they were selected in January of 2022. Chad Kohler, Director of Bands at Fishers High School, says the band was planning on a big trip this year and was encouraged to apply for the selection process to participate. He says out of thousands of applicants, their marching band was one of five selected nationwide.
The band departs on Nov. 19 and returns on Nov. 24, with 268 participants and over 500 family and friends traveling to New York City to witness the historic event. Preparations for the one-minute and 15-second performance are long underway. Kohler says this performance is very different from the band’s typical competitive performance.
“This performance is specifically geared to a live TV audience produced in the heart of New York City,” Kohler says. “Some of our musical selections will be extracted from our fall competitive show; therefore, we are able to work on the music simultaneously; however, we will have to learn a new visual production near the end of our competitive season.”
The trip marks a first for the Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band. Previously they have marched for the Hollywood Christmas Parade, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade and the Walt Disney World Main Street Parade.
“The students are pumped and excited to bring the city of Fishers in Hamilton Southeastern schools to the ‘Big Apple’ and in front of hundreds of millions of TV viewers,” Kohler says.
The excitement is building, and Kohler says the community can support the band by donating to the Macy’s Scholarship Fund. All money donated and raised for the Macy’s scholarship fund will be returned directly to the students.
The 97th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade airs on NBC on Nov. 23 starting at 9 a.m. More than 3.5 million people travel to NYC each year to experience the holiday magic and more than 50 million people watch from their homes.
For more information or to donate, visit fishersband.org/macys.
