State Champion Lafayette High School Marching Band made its final preparations to march in the prestigious Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day.
The band will be marching through the streets of Pasadena, California on Tuesday. The band made up of 212 members made their final walk-through without instruments because they've already been shipped to the West Coast. The Lafayette Band Director, Chuck Smith, said the trip means so much to the students. Smith said this is the first time many students will get to experience the ocean, or ride on an airplane.
The band leaves for California Friday morning at 8 a.m. They will be playing "My Kentucky Home" and the "U.S. Artillery March" in the parade. The parade will be broadcast on ABC 36 Tuesday morning. The Lafayette Band is expected to be seen marching around 12:50 p.m.
The Lafayette Band is the first Lexington band to be showcased in the parade, but that isn't the city's only connection to the event. Bryan Station High School student, Grant Knox, will be one of only four Drum Majors leading the 300 member Bands of America Honor Band. The group is made up of only the top musicians in the country.
