For what is believed to be the first time ever the Riverside-Brookfield High School marching band will march in the Chicago Thanksgiving Day parade this November.
“We’re excited to represent our community to the larger Chicago community,” said RBHS band director James Baum. “It’s a huge thing for us. The kids are all really excited, the parents are really excited and hopefully the community will turn out and cheer us on from the sidelines.”
In June, a representative from the parade invited Baum to submit an application for the RBHS band to march in the parade. The application consisted of submitting videos of the band marching and photos of the band in their uniforms.
Baum was recently notified that the band was selected to march in the parade.
The parade will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23. The band will march down State Street from Ida B. Wells Drive to Randolph Street.
Lisa Janunas, the president of the RBHS Music and Theater Sponsors Board, was excited to hear the news that the band will march in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“We are thrilled that RB’s marching band has been invited to perform in the 2023 Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade,” Janunas was quoted as saying in a press release RBHS issued about the news. “It’s a point of pride to have the marching band represent our school in this high profile, regional event. There’s nothing like performing outside of the school campus to create lasting memories as students, musicians and representatives of the Riverside and Brookfield communities.”
For years the RBHS band has marched in the Von Steuben Day parade in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago and will do so again this year. This year’s Von Steuben Day parade is on Sept. 9. The parade begins at 2 p.m. at 4100 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.
