Plainfield High Schooler Will March In Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

PLAINFIELD, IL — This holiday season, Plainfield will be represented in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade thanks to one Plainfield East High School senior.

Mason Thulin will travel to New York City to march with the Great American Marching Band in the 96th annual parade.

"This is probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done," Thulin said in a statement. "I'm just so proud that I was able to audition for such a prestigious band."

The senior is one of about 200 high school musicians from across the country who was invited to partake in the event after submitting audition videos to showcase his musical and marching talents.

Thulin and other members of the band will arrive in New York Saturday to partake in daily rehearsals leading up to the Thanksgiving parade, which is stepping off at 9 a.m. EST on the west side of Central Park. The 2.5-mile route will end at Macy's Herald Square.

On Thanksgiving morning, the bank will travel to Herald Square for a pre-dawn dress rehearsal in front of NBC cameras. The marching band will perform two songs, including "Christmas Carols on Parade" for the cameras and "Joy to the World" for the parade, according to Tom Hernandez, Plainfield School District 202's director of community relations.

"The adrenaline is going to be pumping before I even step off in the parade," said Thulin, who plans to study aerospace engineering in college. "Everyone you see participating in the parade has been up for at least 10 hours."

Plainfield East Band Director David Lesniak, who marched in this year's Rose Parade, was able to provide Thulin with advice.

"While on the parade route, take time to look around and take in the moment," Lesniak said, per Hernandez.

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