LEWISBURG, Pa. — This past weekend the Lewisburg High School's Marching Dragons Marching Band got the chance to march in the first-ever National Veteran's Parade.
"About a mile-long parade route down Constitution Avenue in Washington, and that was very exciting," said band director Dan Schwanger.
"Kind of like a surreal experience. It was really cool, especially with all the military people and other bands," said Grant Rowe, a tuba player.
Lewisburg and a handful of other bands from around the country got to participate. They performed in front of hundreds of veterans.
"It just reminded me of, like, what they had to do for us to live in America, and it was really cool to honor them, and it made me feel really good," Rowe added.
The band members also got to perform their field show on the lawn of the Washington Monument.
"It definitely took some practice because we didn't have the lines that we do for a real marching show on a football field," said Summer Evans, a flute player. So, it took some work, but we did it, and it turned out really great."
Evans is a senior. This parade was the final performance for senior band members like her.
"I think it was a really great way to end my whole marching band career. I have been in this band for five years now, and I would never have expected that I would end this way, but it was really cool I did," she said.
"It is our hope that we can kind of look back on this, and my students can see that they were a part of the first one and how special that would be as a memory for them," Schwanger stated.
The band hopes to be invited back to the National Veteran's Parade in the future.