This past Thanksgiving, while the rest of Fountain Hills was waking up, three Fountain Hills High School band members were taking part in one of the longest-running holiday traditions of the season, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Brant Ralph, Starr Hemstreet and Foster Woolbright arrived in New York City on Nov. 23 to be part of the Macy’s Great American Marching Band, featured in the parade.

For the four days leading up to the parade the trio traveled to an armory in New Jersey, where they rehearsed with students from around the country.

“It was an interesting thing because you knew that everyone was there for the same goal but we all had different styles,” Woolbright said. “So we really came together in one group and combined into a bigger power.”

To help shape members into that bigger power, the band had section leaders that coached them and helped them keep up their spirits during the long hours of rehearsals.

“There was one guy named Ron, a band director from Virginia who I guess has been with (the parade) the entire time that they have done it,” Ralph said. “It was kind of funny because me and Foster had this running joke, because the first night we were like, ‘Who is this guy that’s so enthusiastic, we just want to go to bed.’ But now we are like, we miss Ron. He was just so happy all the time, it was super nice.”

It wasn’t all work for the three, however. After practice the trio got time to explore the city.

“The coolest part for being a big Broadway nerd was all the Broadway signs everywhere,” Hemstreet said. “I didn’t know how spaced out the theaters were, so we walked by ‘Waitress,’ ‘Hamilton,’ ‘Phantom’ and all of that in the same district.”

Then, the day of the big parade came, Thanksgiving morning.

“It was really early, we had to be downstairs at like 2:30 a.m.,” Ralph said. “So we were waking up when people back home were going to sleep. It was a lot of fun though. I just remember being so filled with adrenalin in the moment, like this is really happening right now, I am about to be on TV in front of all these people.”

Even though the three returned to school the following Monday tired, they would highly recommend their upcoming bandmates consider trying out in the future.

“I mean, the worst they can say is no,” Woolbright said.