A local woman will get a shot of fame this Thanksgiving as she joins her band performing in New York City in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Beth Woerner, 21, of Madison Heights, is one of 485 members of the Marching Royal Dukes of James Madison University. The band is one of only two college bands to perform in the parade.
It’s a spectacular sendoff for the archeology and anthropology major, who will graduate this year.
A 2010 graduate of Amherst County High School, Woerner is the daughter of Ric and Mary Woerner.
Like many graduating high school seniors, Woerner was unsure about which college to pursue.
She said she researched various schools’ extracurricular activities. As a member of the ACHS band, Woerner had attended band camp at JMU and knew the caliber of the program.
Other marching bands are strict and rigid in their performances, she said. JMU, in contrast, is very high energy.
“When they perform, it’s a lot of fun to watch.”
The band planned to travel to New York Tuesday and will return Saturday morning. According to Woerner, the school is providing travel expenses, lodging and some meals.
“It’s awesome,” she said.
The Woerner family planned to celebrate Thanksgiving early in anticipation of the trip and accompany their daughter to New York.
Practice for the parade began three weeks ago and will continue into the early morning hours Thanksgiving Day. As the lead band, the Marching Royal Dukes is slated to perform in front of cameras around 9 a.m.
Three musical scores, including the JMU fight song, will be played throughout the parade. The Marching Royal Dukes will perform The Sound of Music tune “My Favorite Things” in front of the Macy’s department store.
Woerner said that she grew up watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“It still seems unreal,” Woerner said.
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