This Fort Mill band is among just 2 public high schools in NYC Thanksgiving parade
More than 180 Catawba Ridge High School students in Fort Mill will miss out on Thanksgiving Day dinner at home.
Instead, the high schoolers will be at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade performing live as they walk the streets of New York City and for close to 31 million people on TV and online. TV Insider reported the latest figures in 2024.
The band is one of 11 — and one of only two from public high schools nationwide — to perform in this year’s parade.
Band director Patrick Butler said the students are excited about performing, even though as teenagers they don’t necessarily show it.
“They realize the specialness of the trip and are excited just to travel in New York City,” he said Thursday as the band rehearsed on the practice field.
The band received the honor of marching in the parade after winning the Bands of America Southeastern Regional Championship and are the S.C. State 4A Marching Band Champions for the fourth time in five years.
The band will march to two Christmas songs, “Joy to the World” and “Jingle Bells” as it snakes its way through the streets of New York.
The special part of the performance is when the band performs a secret production on the Macy’s Star outside Macy’s Department Store in Manhattan. It’s top secret until the performance, Butler said.
The band left early Monday morning before the sun came up to travel by chartered bus to New York. The trip was expected to take more than 13 hours, including stops for meals and bathroom breaks, he said.
Performing in the parade is not the only thing planned on the trip. The band will also rehearse with the NBC production team. The kids will tour around the city, see the musical “Mamma Mia” and the Rockettes.
Band student Deekshitha Mittapelli, a first-year high school band performer, plays clarinet.
“It’s really special to me because I’ve never participated in such a big event like this and I think going as a school and showing off what we can do and doing what we enjoy is just so special,” she said.
Mittapelli said she is looking forward to going on a dinner cruise around the city.
“I think it’s just so fancy, and it’s going to be so wonderful,” she said.
Catawba Ridge band student Joshua Boulris lived in New York City for four years and remembers seeing it in person as a small child.
“I can go from being on the sidelines to being in the parade,” he said.
To see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, watch NBC or Peacock. The parade is from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 12:53 PM.