By 8 p.m. Sunday, 188 band students, 15 adult chaperones and band director Lance Britt were rolling out of the school’s parking lot in seven chartered buses. Some parents and teachers waited until Tuesday to board another chartered bus or to drive themselves to New York. In all, about 345 Johnston County folks will be getting a taste of the Big Apple this week.

The marching band will perform Thursday in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Students learned a new routine, put in an extra 90 hours of practice and raised their $100,000 share of the trip’s expenses. Donations from local businesses, individuals and parents helped West Johnston meet its goal.

“We made it by our chinny chin chin,” Britt said. “The community really has pulled together to make this happen. I don’t know any better way to promote our community than through exposing the world to the good things we have got going on here in Johnston County.”

Before the buses rolled out Sunday night, Britt had some advice for his students, especially those who had never been to New York. “If I could impart one thing to you, it would be to do something each day to try to remember this experience, because 40 years from now, this will be the type of thing you will look back on,” Britt said. “I guarantee, most of you, most of us, will never get an opportunity like this again. We are going to have a blast as long as you all don’t make me lose the rest of my hair.”

For band members Jill Nyberg, Michael Simon and Sean McBride, Thursday could not come soon enough. Nyberg, a sophomore, is a member of the color guard. Simon, a junior, is drum major. and McBride, a sophomore, plays the mellophone. All three were not the least bit nervous about performing for 44 million people.

“I am excited,” Simon said. “I can’t wait until we get there. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“We’ve been practicing a long time, so we should do good,” Nyberg said. “I am just ready to go.”

While some people will be sleeping on Thanksgiving Day, West Johnston folks will be hard at work. The band will get up at 2:30 a.m., rehearse at Herald Square two hours later and arrive at Central Park to prepare for the parade at 8 a.m. A special Thanksgiving dinner for up to 500 people will follow at the band’s hotel after the parade. Also, plans call for trips to the Rockefeller Center, Broadway shows, Planet Hollywood and harbor cruises this week.

McBride will not have his family nearby for Thanksgiving, but he will be in good company. “I won’t have my family there, but they are going to record the whole parade,” he said. “I’ll still have my friends. The band is like my family so it’s all good.”