MACY'S PARADE Area band to perform

A parade rep watched the Harding band at a football game last year.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- When Santa Claus arrives in the Big Apple for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade he'll be escorted by some Raider spirit.
The Warren G. Harding High School band has been chosen as one of 10 bands to participate in the 78th annual parade Nov. 25 in New York City. The Raider band is the only Ohio representative.
The band learned last October that it had been selected, but parade officials said not to publicize it, said Lynn Marlin, band director.
"We're in a frenzy of activity right now and we're working really hard," she said.
Band members are preparing for their regular slate of fall activities, which include football games and band nights, as well as the parade appearance.
Selection process
Every year Macy's reviews applications from between 250 and 500 bands who want to participate in the Thanksgiving parade tradition, said Orlando Veras, a Macy's parade spokesman.
Each band must submit a video of previous performances demonstrating marching, maneuvering and musical abilities; letters of recommendation; and a biography of the band's director.
After reviewing the tapes, a parade representative attends a performance to ensure prospective participants meet the "caliber of bands we want in the parade," Veras said.
That happened at the Lakewood St. Edward's game last year, Marlin said.
The selection committee also tries to select bands from different styles -- from show bands, which is how Veras classified Harding, to military, drum and corps and traditional styles -- to offer variety.
Raising money
Band members have been raising money for their trip, and 201 of the 225 are expected to go to New York. While in the city, they'll see a Broadway show, perform on the "Today" show, visit ground zero in Manhattan and some of the popular tourist sites.
"They're just ecstatic," Marlin said of band members' anticipation.
She declined to divulge what viewers will see on the parade route.
"It will be something they can relate to," Marlin said. "It will be a continuation of what we do while we're on the field."
The parade, viewed by more than 60 million television viewers across the country, begins at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day at Broadway and Central Park West, continues to Columbus Circle to Broadway traveling through Times Square and onto 34th Street and Macy's Herald Square before ending about noon on Seventh Avenue. It's about a 2.5-mile route.
Marlin has been band director for 10 years and a teacher for 30. Richard J. Rollo is assistant director.