Huntington High School’s Blue Devil marching band has been invited to participate in the 2020 National Independence Day Parade in Washington, DC. Planning and preparations have been underway for several months.
About 80 musicians and color guard members are expected to participate in the excursion. The Blue Devils will be an official representative of the State of New York in the parade. Band Director Brian Stellato, District Director of Fine and Performing Arts Eric Reynolds and parent Tracy Tucker have been working on planning the trip.
“We are so honored to have been nominated by Supervisor Chad Lupinacci to represent Huntington and New York State in the National Independence Day Parade in Washington DC,” Mr. Reynolds said. “This opportunity is a perfect balance between education and enrichment. Music students will participate in musical performance-based activities of rehearsing and marching down Constitution Avenue while taking in the sights of the nation’s capital, including ‘A Capitol Fourth’ fireworks display with the National Symphony Orchestra.”
The Blue Devils are expected to arrive in Washington, DC on Friday, July 3. Sightseeing could include a panoramic motorcoach tour of the federal city, including a visit to Lafayette Square for a White House photo opportunity. An opportunity for an evening walking tour including stops at the Jefferson, Lincoln, Korean War, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Vietnam War Memorials.
On Saturday, July 4 the Blue Devils will have an early breakfast and then head to the parade staging area on the National Mall. Huntington will march in the National Independence Day Parade down historic Constitution Avenue in the heart of Washington, DC.
Following the parade, an opportunity to visit the various Smithsonian Institution museum will be available. Evening hours will be especially exciting as the Blue Devils attend “A Capitol Fourth” celebration on the US Capitol lawn. It will feature a concert by the National Symphony and invited guest musicians and climax with the grand finale fireworks show.
On Sunday, July 5 the Huntington band and color guard members will have an opportunity to sightsee at Ford’s Theater and the Peterson house, visit the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, tour Arlington National Cemetery and participate in a special US Military wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Blue Devils will arrive home later on Sunday, July 5, no doubt exhausted.
