D202 Students To March In Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade In NYC

PLAINFIELD, IL — Two high school students from Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 are headed to New York City later this month to march in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Plainfield North High School senior Ava Florez, a mellophone player, and Plainfield East High School senior Kelechi Ohale, a drum major, are preparing for the performance of a lifetime with the Macy's Great American Marching Band in the Nov. 28 parade.

"My heart skipped a beat when I found out I was accepted," Florez said, per a District 202 news release. "I can't wait to march down the streets of New York City with such amazing musicians and perform on national television to close off my high school marching career with a bang."

Ohale, on the other hand, will be one of only two drum majors leading the prestigious band.

"I applied because I genuinely enjoy the experience of being a drum major," Ohale said. "To hold that position on such a grand scale has been a dream of mine."

Both students had to apply to join the band, but their application processes differed. Where Florez had to submit audition videos to showcase her musical and marching capabilities, Ohale was selected based on her "exemplary behavior and leadership at this summer's Smith Walbridge drum major camp," district officials said.

The two District 202 students are among 185 high school musicians from across the country invited to join the band. They're slated to arrive in New York on the Saturday before the parade and will partake in daily rehearsals leading up to Thanksgiving.

"I know that everyone there will be passionate about music, and I am so excited to have this opportunity to be a part of that crowd," Florez said.

Ohale said she isn't taking for granted "the chance to represent my community and my school."

The parade will step off at 8:30 a.m. from Central Park and will be cheered on by the roughly three million people expected to line the 2.5-mile route. It'll end at Macy's Herald Square around noon.

The band will travel to Herald Square for a pre-dawn dress rehearsal in front of NBC cameras before lining up at the start of the parade, in which they'll perform two songs: "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter and "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.