TUCSON, Ariz. — The Catalina Foothills High School marching band is used to practicing in the shadows of the mountains.
The week of Thanksgiving they're trading saguaros for skyscrapers.
"I think the weather is going to be a really big challenge for all of us," said drum major Emma Rowe. "We're all used to sunny skies and warm days. In New York they have none of that."
The band has been preparing for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It has meant months of practice -- rain or shine.
"We're going to be waking up at 2 a.m.," said drum major Ben Wallace. "The weather is supposed to be in the low 30's, then it is going to go up into the 40's when we march in the parade."
The Tucson band is one of just a few bands chosen from across the country. There is an application process and the longtime band director Renee Shane-Boyd says the judges liked their creativity.
"Every group has it's own personality," Shane-Boyd said. "And this group -- even though they're very large -- they gelled really well and work together and seem to enjoy it when they have an opportunity to perform."
The 280 band members will play three songs along the route in front of millions of people. For many it's about more than just the music.
"My favorite part about being a drum major is being able to conduct everyone," Rowe said. "It's also the relationships that you form with all the band members. It's really special to have all different types of bonds with everyone."
The parade is expected to be an hour and a half and the students will spend nearly a week in the Big Apple exploring the city. The last time the Catalina Foothills High School marching band qualified was in 2006.
"You spend an awful long time preparing for it and raising funds to go -- and it's just over like that," Shane-Boyd said.
Shane-Boyd traveled with the band for the parade in 2006. She says her favorite part was an early morning practice.
"My favorite part of the parade was the rehearsal you do in the early morning because it's completely dark and very quiet in the city," she said. "And it's kind of like you're standing in a cavern, but it's very, very tall buildings instead of rocks and things. And it's really kind of magical feeling cause you're the only group there."
This year the band has also won all of its four competitions. It was awarded the prestigious "Nunemaker Award" at the University of Arizona Band Day.
