There will be at least one Alaskan in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City this year. A Haines resident will march with Florida band “The Second Time Arounders.”
They will perform “Enchano” and other tunes for 50 million live viewers this Thanksgiving. It’s a big moment for Susie Waterhouse.
Susie Waterhouse with Tom Morphet. Image courtesy of Maddy Witek.
“To be perfectly honest, when I actually think about it, I get really misty,” she said.
“It’s a big emotional moment for me. I mean, who gets to do this? It’s the granddaddy of parades.”
Waterhouse loves parades. She’s played alto sax since high school marching band and founded the Haines marching band in 2013.
She winters in Florida and stays tuned up for the Haines Fourth of July Parade by marching with the ‘Rounders all season. The band was formed to give anyone who’s played in high school or college a chance to do it a second time around. It has over 400 members between the ages of 18 and 85.
Waterhouse says training for the Macy’s parade is a challenge.
“Everything is timed precisely. And they’re very strict about our time in the marching in order to get Santa at Macy’s at three minutes before 12:00 p.m. We have practiced and practiced and practiced,” she said.
She says event organizers would rather the band look good than sound good. Her hat must be parallel to the ground and she’s not allowed to interact with the crowd. She said the baton twirlers all have the same shade of lipstick.
The parade airs live on Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon.
