Adair Co. Band Serenades The Big Apple

The Adair County Marching Band returned from their historical trip to New Your City to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade last Saturday and brought home a mountain of memories that will last a lifetime.
Adair County was one of 11 bands performing in the parade, and the 4th band to perform live on NBC at approximately 9:25 a.m. however those who watched the parade on television that morning may have caught a glimpse of the band on more than one occasion.
At one point while NBC Today Show Co-host Al Roker was conducting an interview, the Adair County Band could be seen marching along the parade route in the background.
On another occasion, the Adair County Band was shown marching down the parade route as the cameras pulled out for a long view of the parade before going to a commercial break.
But their shining moment came with their live performance of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" in front of the Macy's Store.
In addition to their several appearances on camera, the Today Show Host Meredith Vieira gave the Adair County Band a side note about the students raising the money themselves to make the trip to New York t perform in the parade.
"This was one of the most awe-inspiring trips I have ever taken with the Adair County Band," said retired Adair County Band Director Tim Allen, who led the band during the parade. "I knew there going to be millions of people watching on the streets of Manhattan, but I had no idea what that would really look like along the parade route," he continued."Imagine one street block with people on both sides of the street 20 to 25 people deep, shoulder to shoulder, now, multiply that by about 60 blocks (counting the turns), and you'll get an idea of the throng of people watching this parade.  
And that doesn't count the thousands hanging out of skyscraper windows along the route. The atmosphere was incredible," he noted.
Although the Adair County Band was overwhelmed with the amount of people that turned out for the parade, according to Allen they seemed to win the hearts of the crowd.
"The New York audience was very receptive and really enjoyed the Adair County Band.  People were even coming out into the street saying, you guys are great," Allen stated.
Allen commented on the whole experience saying, "These students got to see celebrities, floats, and giant balloons, up close and personal, march down the streets of New York City, and perform for a TV audience of over 50 million viewers.  There are very few people in the world that can say that."
In addition to Allen, Adair County Band Director Tom Case also made the trip to New York with the band,
"I feel very honored to have been a part of this trip and performance. The band was well received throughout the parade route and the crowds were very boisterous in their appreciation of the band. It is a moment that I will hold dearly throughout my professional career," said Case.
In addition to the honor of marching in the parade the band students also participated in several activities while visiting New York City including; Radio City Music Hall's "Christmas Spectacular" including the world famous Rockettes, a dinner cruise on the Hudson River, including the Statue of Liberty, the Broadway play "The Lion King," a city tour including St. Patrick's Cathedral, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Wall Street, Ground Zero, and The Empire State Building and of course the opportunity to do some shopping and eating.
Although the students had a wonderful experience in the Big Apple, the trip to New York got off to a rocky start with a couple of mishaps along the way.
The first setback occurred when one of the seven charter buses' windshield wiper motor went out and the group of over 300 Adair Countians had to wait for a replacement bus.
Once back on the road it was smooth sailing until pulling into the parking lot of their hotel in Pennsylvania.
As one of the buses was pulling into the parking lot a motorist sideswiped it and yet another bus was sent out to replace the damaged bus.
With the vehicle mishaps hopefully behind them, the group from Adair County was looking forward to a good nights rest but unfortunately another delay popped up as the hotel staff informed them that not all of the rooms were ready and an estimated 25 people were sent to another hotel.
With all of that behind them the Adair County Marching Band ands it supporters were ready to take on the Big apple.
"Our goal was to represent Columbia, Adair County, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky in as positive, professional way as possible.  I think these young people succeeded in reaching that goal and I could not be more proud of these fine young people," stated Allen.
Photo: The Adair County Marching Band leads their section of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade down the streets of Manhattan. (Photos by Groupphotos.com)