More than 100 members of the Vero Beach High School Band departed Thursday afternoon from Orlando and flew to England, where they will march in the London New Year’s Day Parade.
It is the first overseas trip for the band, which in years past has performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., and on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
According to Associated Band Director Brandon Putzke, the Vero Beach group includes 102 band members and 38 adults. The cost of the trip was $3,300 per student, but a combination of donations, sponsorships and fundraisers reduced the price by approximately $1,000 per person.
The band’s equipment and uniforms were shipped to London two weeks ago.
While in London, where the daytime temperatures are projected to be in the 40s, the group has planned several sight-seeing excursions, including charter-bus tours, walking tours and a cruise along the River Thames.
“We’ll see the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle … all of the tourist destinations there,” Putzke said Thursday. “We’re also going to see the musical, ‘Wicked,’ and there’s a New Year’s Eve party at our hotel.
“Everyone’s looking forward to the trip.”
The Vero Beach band was invited in October 2017 to participate in the prestigious parade through London’s West End, where more than 650,000 people lined the streets along the two-mile route for the 2018 festivities and an estimated 3 million watched on television.
The Fighting Indians were among 20 U.S. bands invited to march in the 2019 event. The bands were chosen based on their reputations, state ratings, success in competitions and performances at other significant events.
This is the first time Vero Beach has been invited to perform at the London parade. Daytona Beach’s Seabreeze High School Band also will be making the trip to England, traveling on the same flight and staying in the same hotel.
The parade, which begins at 7 a.m. (Vero Beach time) on New Year’s Day, can be viewed online at www.LNYDP.com.
