The national spotlight will shine on nearly 200 Pickerington High School Central students Thanksgiving morning as the Marching Tigers team up with Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

The Pickerington Central Marching Tigers will appear on NBC Nov. 26 shortly before noon.

The band, which will also march in the Tournament of Roses Parade in January prior to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., will be the "Santa Band" in the Macy's Parade. As such, it will march directly in front of Santa Claus at the end of the nationally televised parade.

"Demographically, that's the most-watched portion of the parade," said Mike Sewell, PHS Central band director. "We will be on television at 11:53 (Thanksgiving) morning."

Sewell, who has directed marching bands at Pickerington High School and now at PHS Central for the past 29 years, will lead 193 members of the Marching Tigers and four banner carriers for the fourth Macy's parade appearance by a Pickerington band.

This year's performance also will tie Pickerington with Youngstown Boardman High School for most Macy's appearances by an Ohio school.

It's sure to be a whirlwind trip for the band and its backers.

They were to depart by bus for New York City at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, and after some shopping and dining in Times Square, band seniors planned to take in a Broadway showing of "In the Heights" Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, after shopping at Macy's, students were to attend a Christmas performance featuring the Rockettes at the famed Radio City Music Hall.

On Thursday, the band was slated to perform for NBC crews filming the parade at 4 a.m. before marching in the parade.

"They do all the run-throughs before so the crew knows where to put the camera on our group," said Rick Knapp, an educational assistant in the Pickerington Local School District.

Knapp is also staff assistant with the Central marching band and bus driver for the trip.

"Then we go back to the buses, have our box breakfasts and we basically sit and wait for the parade," he said.

On Friday, Nov. 27, the students will take in a last round of sightseeing before boarding their buses to return to Pickerington at approximately 9 p.m.

The band members will fly to Los Angeles Dec. 29 for the Tournament of Roses Parade. That trip will include stops at Disneyland, sightseeing and a march in the parade on New Year's Day.

The Marching Tigers also will be only the second band--along with Lassiter High School (Marietta, Ga.)--to march in the Macy's and Rose parades in the same year.

"For the first time, the Rose Parade is going to be broadcast in China," Sewell said. "That's another 4-million viewers."

The Marching Tigers will be joined on the California trip by the Ohio School for the Blind and the Ohio University Marching 110, which includes the son of Sewell and his wife, Karen Sewell.

The Ohio State Buckeyes football team will be making its first return to the Rose Bowl since its victory in January 1997. Coincidently, Pickerington High School marched in the Rose Parade that year, as well.

"I thought it was awful nice of Ohio State to join the party," Sewell said.

In order to attend both trips, band members have held a number of performances and fundraisers over the past two years. They needed to generate $1,575 per student to cover their expenses.

In addition to a wealth of help from parents, businesses and community members, the city of Pickerington and Violet Township recently agreed to each provide $3,500 to help cover the students' travel costs.

"Because of your kindness, all of our kids can go to the parades," Sewell told Pickerington City Council members on Nov. 17. "We will represent you all quite well."

Violet Township trustee Terry Dunlap was integral in garnering support for partially funding the trips with public money.

"Our kids are our future and we need to support them now so they can enjoy their education," Dunlap said. "These trips are an education in and of themselves.

"They're a part of our community and we're totally committed to our community. Mr. Sewell is a driving force for all the bands here and what they've accomplished. He's set the bar high."

Pickerington Mayor Mitch O'Brien concurred, and thanked Sewell and his students for representing Pickerington and Violet Township with flair to the rest of the nation.

"We heard there were some kids that just couldn't make the finances for the trip," O'Brien said. "The Tigers are going to own the 'Big Apple,' and the Tigers and the Buckeyes are going to own Pasadena."

Additional information about the Marching Tigers and their trips to New York City and Pasadena can be found online at www.pickeringtoncentralparades.com.

nellis@thisweeknews.com