Watching America's Thanksgiving Day Parade wander down
Woodward Avenue is part of the holidays for many area residents.
This year, some Eagles will be part of the Nov. 27 event,
usually reserved for birds of a different feather.
The appearance of the EMU Marching Band in the parade
marks the first time in EMU's history that it has participated
in the parade. It will be the only University marching
band in the parade.
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IN UNISON: The EMU Marching Band performs
outside Rynearson Stadium before a football game
earlier this fall. The band will take center stage
during the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade Nov.
27. |
"This is a great way to support EMU and a great opportunity
for our band," said John Zastoupil, EMU's marching band
director.
The band will be at the head of the parade and will perform
the EMU Fight Song and the theme from the Superman movie.
Television coverage begins at 10 a.m. on WDIV Channel
4. Zastoupil said that EMU will be on TV at 10:03 a.m.,
according to parade schedulers.
The appearance of the EMU Marching Band is part of a collaboration
between EMU and The Parade Company, based in Detroit.
"The Parade Company came to us with an idea to add an
education component to the tour of their studio," said
Ted Coutilish, associate vice president of marketing and
communications. "They wanted help creating curriculum that
would comply with the new standards set down by the Michigan
Department of Education and we are in a position to help
them. As part of the agreement, our band was invited to
play in the parade."
The standards are important because many schools cannot
book field trips unless the location meets with the curriculum
standards.
The task of creating curriculum was the responsibility
of Brigid Beaubien, professor of education at EMU.
"We toured The Parade Company facilities and looked at
what they did. We looked at the different floats and created
lessons for before and after the field trip; and tied it
into the curriculum standards," Beaubien said.
Beaubien said there was a wealth of opportunities within
the company and that the challenge was narrowing them down
to what was needed.
"They have a float called "It's a Michigan Thing." One
of the components of the float was a representation of
the Mackinac Bridge. You can look at the history of the
bridge and tie that to social studies and literacy standards
the state mandates for second-, third- and fourth-graders."
Beaubien said the lessons she created will be online next
fall so that teachers can pick and choose what they want.
"Teachers will click on an icon of a float and there will
be five lessons and additional lesson extensions for them
to use," Beaubien said. "They're educational and it's fun."
The Michigan Thanksgiving Parade, now known as America's
Thanksgiving Parade, was founded in 1924. For more
than 75 years, the parade has been a one-of-a-kind spectacle
of fantasy, holiday spirit and community enthusiasm. The
parade has grown to include more than 75 parade units,
including floats, balloons and marching bands in procession.
