The announcement included Broward County Public School Superintendent Vickie L. Cartwright, School Board Member Lori Alhadeff, Band Director Steve Rivero, Principal Michelle Kefford, and Wesley Whatley, creative producer for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Eagle Regiment Band {Macy’s}
By Kevin Deutsch
The Eagle Regiment will soon be landing on Central Park West.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s Marching Band was selected Monday to perform at the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, according to Macy’s.
Representing the state of Florida, the decorated Eagle Regiment band will join the parade in Manhattan to the call of “Let’s Have a Parade.” Parade officials said the phrase has signaled the start of every Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1924.
The MSD band’s appearance will be its first at the iconic event.
“I could not think of a greater honor for a marching band and am thrilled that the deserving students of the Eagle Regiment will have this experience,” said Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Band Director Steve Rivero, who grew up watching the parade as an annual family tradition. “We cannot wait to show the world the wonderfully talented students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.”
The Eagle Regiment was selected by the Macy’s Parade Band Committee, a group tasked with finding school marching bands with enough stage presence, musical talent, and marching ability to captivate millions of live spectators and viewers at home.
The band emerged from a field of more than 100 applicants, earning one of just ten slots for marching bands in the parade’s 97th edition.
Wesley Whatley, creative producer for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, said the Eagle Regiment “exemplifies elegance, poise, and musicianship on the marching field, setting them apart as one of the very finest bands in the state of Florida.”
“We look forward to hosting these talented students on our national stage as they march for the first time through the streets of New York City on Thanksgiving morning in the 2023 Macy’s Parade,” Whatley said.
As part of Monday’s selection, Macy’s presented the Eagle Regiment with a $10,000 “fundraising kickoff” to help pay for their trip to the Big Apple.
According to Macy’s, the band will spend the next 18 months planning for their parade appearance through rehearsals and creative fundraising events.
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