St. Petersburg 'Second Time Arounders' to perform at Macy's parade
Second Time Arounders in NYC for Thanksgiving Day parade
The Greater St. Petersburg Area Awesome Original Second Time Arounders Marching Band is in New York City for its second-ever appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As the smell of turkey fills the air and you settle onto the couch to watch this year's Thanksgiving day parades, you might recognize a few familiar faces.
A St. Petersburg-based marching band with members of all ages was chosen to perform in the iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
They're called the Greater St. Petersburg Area Awesome Original Second Time Arounders Marching Band. It's a fitting name, as this is now their second time appearing in the Macy's parade.
These are all folks from the Tampa Bay area who performed in their high school, college or military marching bands but have never lost their passion for music.
"If you've been through band in high school, from grades 5, 6, or 7 on through high school and college, and marched for them on the field, been to band trips and things, you never forget that and you always want to do it again if you could," said Band Director Bill Findeison.
"It's like being in high school again," said member Lee Lafleur. "Once a band geek, we say, always a band geek."
The Second Time Arounders formed 38 years ago with 75 people. Now, they're 450 strong with members marching from their late teens to 80s.
This week they're in NYC for the pinnacle of marching band honors, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
"We were invited out of 120 bands," Findeison said. "They chose nine bands from across the country to be in the parade and we got to be one of them."
Their first Macy's parade was in 2008. Veterans of the event know it's a grueling schedule.
"A lot of us have been working out and walking for months to prepare for this," said Barbara Keighley-Beck.
The group will rehearse from 7-9 Wednesday night. Then they have to wake back up at 1 a.m. for TV rehearsals, breakfast, and the long, chilly wait until their 2.25-mile-march from Central Park to Herald Square for their big moment in front of 50 million viewers.
"It's a feeling for us that can't be matched and the crowd loves to see it as well," Findeison said.
The blare of trumpets, the crash of cymbals and the beat of the drumline can take you right back to the Friday night lights of football. For this group, the beat in their hearts has never slowed down.
"Just turning the end of the track and looking back and seeing that huge band and the drum kings, it's a thrill," Keighley-Beck said.
They hope their music is a reminder that it's never too late to dust off your instrument and play a new tune.
"You can do it again," Findeison said. "That music lasts forever. Participation in music is a lifetime opportunity. Anybody that's played an instrument or twirled or done a flag or danced, they can do it again."
The Second Time Arounders will likely be on TV between 10:25 and 10:45 Thursday morning, playing the fast-paced tune, "Enchano."
They're always looking for new members. If you'd like to get involved, you can learn more at http://secondtimearounders.org/.