It’s the longest band trip in the Butler County school’s history, and students are giddy with excitement.
“I’ve never been to Hawaii and I’m excited,” said sophomore Alex Hoelle.
The Hamilton band is the only Ohio high school to be invited to the parade this year.
“It’s a very big deal because we’ll be able to represent ourselves as Ohioans and being from Butler County and Hamilton,” Hoelle said.
The band will march in the Waikiki Holiday Parade, which this year will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the pivotal attack on the navy base that launched America into World War II.
In Butler County, only Lakota East and Lakota West’s marching bands have previously performed in the annual Hawaiian event.
Each year the Waikiki Holiday Parade is held on the Friday after Thanksgiving in Honolulu, Hawaii, honoring Pearl Harbor survivors and the United States military. Thousands of spectators, residents and visitors gather to watch the parade, which hosts marching bands, Pearl Harbor survivors, service bands, military units, local officials, dignitaries and entertainers.
Stacy Jost, spokeswoman for the Waikiki Parade, has publicly said, “we are thrilled to be working with Paul Dixon and the Hamilton band on their trip. The students’ experiences at Pearl Harbor and meeting survivors will be something they will remember for a lifetime. We are honored to help create this memory.”
Seventy members of the Hamilton band will make the trip, which costs about $3,000 for each student. Private fund raising and donations are being solicited to help fund the trip.
Hamilton Band Director Paul Dixon said the preparations are hectic but are coming together nicely.
“We leave Nov. 22 and there is a ton of details. The kids are real excited, but I still think that until they get on the plane it isn’t necessarily real to them yet,” he said.
About 130 band members, band staffers, parents and school staffers are traveling to Hawaii.
Dixon thanked local businesses that allowed change boxes for collections of coins for the band trip to be placed in their businesses, raising more than $1,000.
More donations are needed though, said Dixon, and those interested in contributing can go to www.hamiltonhighband.org.
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