While many in the area will be in the thick of winter, 110 marching band students from Marshalltown High School will be having the time of their lives in Orlando.
The band has been selected to play in the Florida Citrus Bowl parade and will travel by bus to Orlando from Dec. 26 to Jan. 2 as part of their big band trip they take every four years.
"It's a chance to showcase Marshalltown in other parts of the country and gives them some life experiences that some of these kids wouldn't have," said band director Bret Lee.
Aside from playing in the Citrus Bowl parade on Dec. 31, the band will also play in a parade at Disney World's Magic Kingdom prior to the lighted parade.
"We get to represent our school in an entirely different part of the country," said MHS senior Claire Rogers.
The students will also visit the Disney Parks and Universal Studios as part of their trip.
"It will be awesome," said sophomore Trace Ohrt.
This has been a successful marching band season for the Bobcats. They received a Division I rating at the state marching band festival and took third place at a recent Waukee contest. The MHS percussion section received the top honors for Class 4A at Waukee.
The marching band has also worked hard to put on inspiring shows at the football games.
"It's been an absolutely fabulous year," said Elizabeth Anderson, a senior drum major. "Everybody is putting everything into this year."
The Orlando trip is financed through fundraisers and the students' own money; no school district funds will be used.
"I just think this is a great opportunity for them to travel together as a group," Lee said.
The two major fundraisers for the band are the annual pasta dinner, which is Tuesday, and fruit sales, which will be held the week of Thanksgiving.
The pasta dinner is from 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the MHS cafeteria. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. The dinner includes pasta with a meat sauce, salad, a breadstick, drink and dessert.
