Four Locals Marching in Macy's Parade

With a keen eye, you may catch some familiar faces Thanksgiving morning among the marching bands accompanying the Macy's parade floats.

Four local college students - two each from Ridgewood and Glen Rock - will be marching with their school bands as the parade makes its way up 6th Avenue from 9 a.m. to noon.

Justin Graves, a trumpeter of Ridgewood, is stepping off early for the parade with the James Madison University marching band, one of two college bands selected for the occasion.

The band is slated to lead the Thanksgiving procession, and will be one of the first parts of the parade to pass the cameras after stepping off at 9 a.m.

The University of Massachusetts Marching Band, the other college band selected by Macy's, features Ridgewood resident Argan Pagotaisidro, and Adam Har-Zvi and Neal Scheraga of Glen Rock.

It will be the UMass Marching Band's first trip to New York City for the Thanksgiving parade. And exciting as it may be, the day at the Macy's parade is anything but easy. Performers will be rising at 2:30 a.m. to make a 4 o'clock practice outside the iconic department store, before lining up at 7:45.

You don't have to be up early to catch the band, though. They're scheduled to cross the Macy's Star, and the line of television cameras, at 11:24 a.m. sharp.