Band makes 12th appearance in NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade
VERNON. The Vernon Township High School Viking Marching Band will march up Fifth Avenue starting about 2:30 p.m. today.
Vernon /
| 17 Mar 2023 | 08:38
The Vernon Township High School Viking Marching Band first marched in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City in 2010.
The Vernon Township High School Viking Marching Band will take part in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade today in Manhattan.
This is the 12th time that the band has participated in the New York City parade, which is the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world.
The parade begins at 11 a.m. and marchers move north on Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street.
The Viking Marching Band is set to start marching about 2:30 p.m.
The parade is broadcast live on NBC 4 New York.
Max Taylor, band director at Vernon Township High School, said the band first marched in the New York City parade in 2010 after then-Principal Former principal Timothy Dunnigan suggested that it apply to take part.
All participants must apply every year. The only year that the Vikings missed were 2020 and 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.
The band, with about 75 members, takes two buses to Manhattan and a third bus carried parents and others who will cheer on the band from the sidewalks.
Taylor said the St. Patrick’s Day gives band members something to look forward to in the spring after the fall, which is filled with competitions.
The band also takes part in a Memorial Day parade in Vernon. Every other year, when the band takes an overnight trip, it usually marches in a parade in the town it travels to.
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Manhattan begins at 11 a.m., and marchers move north on Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street. The Vernon Township High School Viking Marching Band is set to start marching about 2:30 p.m. The parade is broadcast live on NBC 4 New York.