EDWARDSVILLE – Every young person has hopes and dreams, but two Edwardsville High School students will be embarking on a trip of a lifetime when they participate in the Macy’s 90th Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.
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Maria Arzuagas and Erika Axtell, two members of the color guard in the Edwardsville High School Marching Band, will be part of the Macy’s Great American Marching Band in New York City this November in the parade. Only the top musicians, dancers and color guard members from high schools around the country are invited to audition for the exclusive spots in the band.
The girls are presently raising money to cover their expenses for the trip with a GoFundMe campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/28uagtw.
There will be fundraiser at Teaspoons Cafe in Edwardsville on July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 11 and Oct. 16. A portion of the profits will go to the girls. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 25 at Culvers, a portion of the purchases go toward the girls as well.
The girls said they were thankful to Culvers and Teaspoons Cafe for helping with their fundraising. The girls are incoming juniors at Edwardsville High School and members of the EHS Color Guard.
“It means so much to me and Maria these businesses are doing this for us,” Axtell said. “I have always watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is an amazing parade. This will be like a dream come true.”
Arzuagas said the Macy’s Parade is something she, too, has always watched.
“You never expect to be doing this when you are younger,” she said. “I have never done anything like this before, so I will be a little nervous. I will do my best to perform. I know it will all be very emotional.”
The flag hurlers’ cost of the trip will stretch over $1,670 per person and does not include transportation costs. The package includes six nights’ stay at the Hilton Woodcliff Lake hotel, five meals, three breakfasts and five dinners, round-trip chartered motor coach transportation to all rehearsals, sightseeing ventures and the parade, sightseeing of the 9/11 Museum, Rockefeller Center, Time Square and a live stage performance.
After the parade, members of the marching band are invited to a Thanksgiving dinner and dance reception. Souvenirs, participation patches and buttons and warm-ups are also included in the price of the packages.
