This article was initially posted on The Collegian, SDSU's student-run newspaper.
The Pride of the Dakotas can now officially say they marched in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The band took to the streets of New York Thursday morning to represent the university and state of South Dakota for three million spectators in the crowd and millions more tuning in on TV.
“It was really a surreal experience,” said sophomore clarinet player Joseph Cassady. “Getting to look up and see the city and feeling the energy of the crowd … it changed how I look at the Macy’s Day Parade and just like my experience with music in general.”
The Pride started the day with an early morning call at 2:20 a.m. to run through their parade routine for NBC television crews ahead of their performance.
Pride members were chipper despite the early rehearsal. Many attributed the adrenaline to the excitement for the moment they’d been preparing for the last year and a half.
“Overall today, the energy was amazing,” said Camryn Phinney, another sophomore clarinet. “Dr. Kessler gave a speech last night about how all the [past] Pride members were with us today, and that carried me through all the exhaustion I had.”
The band was joined by notable celebrities like Big Time Rush, who featured the Pride cheering from the waiting zone on their Instagram, Jimmy Fallon and Adam Devine.
Located behind the green dinosaur and baby dino float, the Pride played its street beats, “Ring the Bell” and West Side Story medley for 2.5 miles. They started at West 77th Street then moved down Central Park West where they turned on Columbus Circle and headed along 59th Street. The Pride then turned onto 6th Street where they walked another 25 blocks before making their way onto 34th Street, where the cameras in front of Macy’s waited to broadcast their 90-second set for the entire country.
“I always watch the parade with my family, and I was kind of sad that I couldn’t be home with my family watching it, but then I was like, ‘wait, I’m in it, I’m in the parade that I watch every year,’” Thailee Baker, a freshman clarinet, said. “And just looking up, I was trying not to cry, because I was so happy to be here.”
Kevin Kessler, director of athletic bands, said he was grateful for the good weather and energetic crowd and expressed his own pride for the band.
“They just had a spectacular week,” he said. “They represented themselves, and the school and the state so well. They performed exceptionally well today.”
After the parade, the band gathered at Penn Station for a group photo before getting a few hours of rest ahead of the Manhattan Thanksgiving Dinner Cruise.
Cassady said his favorite part about New York was experiencing the city atmosphere.
“Seeing how much diversity there is in the city, seeing the different kinds of shops … of super niche things and everything just being lively all the time was exhilarating,” he said.
Another freshman clarinet, Jacquie Wold, said she enjoyed spending time in the city with her fellow bandmates.
“I just really enjoyed hanging out with my friends and having a good time,” she said.
Friday the band flies out from Newark-Liberty International Airport, and the last group is scheduled to land back on South Dakota soil around 11 a.m.
Though some band members are already anticipating returning home, it’s a bittersweet ending to the trip for others like Wold.
“I want to stay here a little bit more, but I am happy to go home, I suppose,” she said.
This story was co-written by Jordan Rusche and Gracie Terrall, co-editors in chief of The Collegian. Rusche is also an intern at SDPB.
You can watch SDPB's latest documentary The Pride of the Dakotas HERE.