Asheville High School Marches in Inaugural Parade

Asheville High School’s marching band was chosen to march in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade, representing the state of North Carolina. The band was only started in competitions six years ago after the current band director Will Talley took the helm. As such a young band, it is an extreme honor to be selected as one of 90 groups out of the 2,807 original applicants. The band worked hard to raise the $90,000 it cost for this trip, doing a variety of fundraisers including a pre-inaugural support concert, and a 5k. The band embarked to Washington DC on Friday, January 18th, and arrived home on Tuesday, January 22nd. In addition to marching in the parade, the students had the opportunity to enjoy the varying aspects of Washington DC culture and get a tour of the capital, tour museums, attend the Inaugural Gala Awards Ceremony, and top the trip off with a celebratory dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe after the parade.

Over the weekend, the band was also honored the title of “Grand Champion”. Way to go, Asheville High Marching Band!

Want to see USA Today’s coverage of the event? Click here

You can also see WLOS’s coverage of the parade here