Mighty Sound of Maryland to Lead Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
11/20/2000 7:00:00 AM | Terrapin Athletics
Nov. 20, 2000
The University of Maryland Marching Band will be prominently featured as the lead band in
this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Mark your calendars and be prepared to tune in
November 23, 2000, at 9:00 a.m., when the NBC broadcast kicks off. You will be joined by
millions of viewers who will see the parade on television. Or, you could plan to join the
thousands in New York City who will line the parade route from Central Park West to Broadway,
all the way to Herald Square.
"The Mighty Sound of Maryland" was chosen on the first attempt to be considered for the
parade, even though organizers advised that the competition is always tough and bands are
virtually never selected on the first try. The 250 student musicians comprising the band perform
each year for more than 250,000 fans at football home games and some road trips. They have
traveled all over the United States and to Germany, France, Scotland and Spain.
L. Richmond Sparks, the band's director, is busy preparing arrangements, including a
spectacular drill to be performed at the official viewing area in Herald Square. Practice began
in earnest on August 23rd under the hot Maryland sun on the South Chapel Field.
Temperatures will be a bit more brisk on that dark and chilly New York morning in November.
Members will have to line up in their red, white, black and gold Maryland uniforms as early as
2 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, when the bands, floats and giant balloons in the parade
begin to assemble.
The Marching Band will appear on CBS's "Early Show" on Wednesday, November 22.
