GILBERT, AZ — Gilbert High School's marching band is making a big splash across the pond, finally performing in the New Year's Day Parade in London.
We caught up with them after touching down from the once-in-a-lifetime trip, that was three years in the making.
"It was definitely a long flight," said Coya Cook, a senior and one of the color guard captains.
Coya spoke with us after kicking off the new year performing for thousands.
"It was a lot of fun," said Cook, "We got to see like a lot of other groups too, other groups, like while we were marching and stuff. It was fun."
"Yeah also seeing all the people lined up on the side of the roads and stuff too was really cool," added Kaitlyn McClaughrey, another color guard captain.
The Tigers finally got the chance to show off their talents, after the trip was canceled twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We were actually invited three years ago and due to covid we had to postpone it two years so it's finally nice to get out there," said band director Ron André, "Third times a charm I was saying."
The band performed the popular tune, Sweet Caroline.
"I'm super proud of them," added André, "It was a great parade. The kids performed really really well and really represented Arizona very very well and it was just great to finally get to see them march in that parade."
The trip also gave the students the opportunity to take in some historic sites like Stonehenge, The Tower of London, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, and The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theater.
"It was great to see their faces, their eyes light up with all the different things," André explained. "Of course, their phones were out constantly taking pictures and video and they just couldn't get enough of it. So, it was just really fun to see them experience that finally."
"It was awesome. Being able to see another country and traveling with a bunch of friends," said Cook.
"It was definitely an amazing learning opportunity just to learn about other countries and how their culture is, and just going with a bunch of people I know too is really fun," McClaughrey added.
