Nation Ford will perform in New York on Thanksgiving, but the show is top secret

The Nation Ford High School marching band is planning a top-secret performance that will make its public debut during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

“When we practice, I have to tell parents ‘No, you can’t film it’” band Director Martin Dickey said.

He is contractually obligated by NBC-TV to keep the performance under wraps until the big day, which only adds to the excitement of the trip of a lifetime for his students. The band is the only one in the Carolinas – high school or college – that will march in the Macy’s Parade this year.

Fort Mill High School’s cheerleading squad will be marching in the parade, however.

According to Dickey, the parade producers at Macy’s receive up to 500 band applications each year, but only eight high school and two college bands will get to march down 5th Avenue in New York City. That makes the NaFo band’s appearance even more special, and there’s one other unique distinction that makes Dickey proud.

“We are the first band in the history of the state to do that twice,” Martin Dickey said.

Dickey spent 15 years as band director at Fort Mill High School and took that band to the Tournament of Roses in California. When Nation Ford High School opened its doors and he became band director there, he decided to do something new and apply to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The application process includes submitting resumes for the band and director, videos of performances, photos of uniforms, letters of recommendation from big names in the marching band world and examples of any local media coverage. It’s an exhausting list that Dickey was ready to take on, and the hard work paid off.

“I got a call two weeks after I submitted it, which was faster than normal, and the executive producer for the parade called me and invited us immediately,” he said.

Dickey said about 200 students are expected to make the trip to New York City. The cost per student is around $1,300. It is the trip of a lifetime that will include activities such as attending the Broadway production of “Miss Saigon” as well as trips to see Rockefeller Center, the Sept. 11, 2001 Memorial, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Even the band’s Thanksgiving meal will be special – a dinner cruise on the Hudson River.

Among those looking forward to it is Sarah Keenen, president of the band’s booster club. She has two students going on the trip, and both she and her husband will be chaperones.

“I’ve watched it on TV my whole life so I’m excited to see it in person and get that experience firsthand,” she said.

Keenen and other band parents are planning a flurry of activities to help get the students to their fundraising goal. The booster club is selling bows for $10 to help “Paint the Town Red” in support of the band.

“We would like everyone’s mailbox to have red bows to send the kids off for the Macy’s (Thanksgving) Day Parade in November,” she said.

The bows are available on the band’s website: nationfordband.com. Also available are advance tickets for the band’s annual All You Can Eat Oyster and Barbecue event at the Field Trial Barn at Anne Springs Close Greenway. The event has been a huge fundraiser for the band for the better part of a decade.

Stacy Tickle, a parent of a band alumni and a former booster president, is helping organize this year’s fundraiser. She said it’s a great event that brings a huge crowd excited to eat some great food.

“We have people who have been coming to this event so many years they bring their own picnic basket, side dishes, they have a table set up just for them,” she said.

Tickle said she knows what it takes to make this trip happen: She went on the trip the first time the Nation Ford participated in the Thanksgiving parade. Her son, now a senior in college, was a sophomore at the time.

“It’s such a special time for those kids,” she said.

Dickey agreed and said as soon as marching season is over after state finals on Oct. 28, the top-secret Macy’s rehearsals begin. He provided one little tidbit of insight: Surprisingly, one thing it won’t include is Christmas music.

“They (Macy’s officials) kind of discourage it, not because they are anti-Christmas, but Christmas season starts officially when Santa Claus comes across the parade route,” Dickey said.

Nation Ford will host a public performance at 7 p.m. Oct. 30, at the high school. The event is free, but people are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food donation for the Fort Mill Care Center.

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Nation Ford will perform in New York on Thanksgiving, but the show is top secret."