MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

- ITINERARY FOR GUESTS -

6:00pm OPEN REHEARSAL @ Bridgeforth Stadium

You are invited to join us for our final rehearsal before departing for the parade. If you are interested, please feel free to stop by as we make our last preparations for the trip.

11:30am MRD’s/Guests report to the Convocation Center • All guests will be traveling on a JMU motor coach. • Check-in with Connie Driscoll when you arrive. • A boxed lunch will be provided at the bus (you can pick yours up as you board the bus)

for the trip to New York. • We will have plenty of space under the bus for luggage, but do consider bringing an

extra bag or “carry-on” of sorts onto the bus for the trip.

12:00pm Depart for NYC

STOP @ Lehigh Valley Mall – 250 Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, PA 18052 • We will be making this stop along the way to stretch our legs and pick up some JMU

students who live too far North to return to campus before departing for NYC. 6:00pm(ish) Arrive at Hotel – 53rd Street Entrance

TUESDAY, November 26

THURSDAY, November 21

PARKING: Please park in the center section closest to the A and B entrances of the lower Convocation parking lot. JMU Public Safety is aware that we will be parking there and will patrol the area during the break.

CHECK-IN @ Metropolitan Ballroom (Second Floor) • All buses will unload and enter the 53rd Street entrance to the hotel. The JMU group will

meet in the ballroom to do an organized check-in. • All guests will receive their room keys first, then we will check-in the band . . . beat the

rush to the elevators. Trust me, this will save you at least an hour!

Evening Following check-in – unpack and explore the city! • The hotel is within walking distance to Times Square and Central Park. • There are several excellent restaurants (of all types and price points) within a convenient

5-block radius of the Sheraton. • Explore the area around the hotel • Purchase a metro card for the subway (there is a convenient Subway stop just outside of

our hotel (53rd Street)). • Consider taking time to visit the Concierge desk in the Lobby – they can help you with

tickets to shows, tours, dinner reservations, etc.

As guests, we welcome you to attend our open rehearsal in the Metropolitan Ballroom (see below), or take the day to explore/enjoy New York City!

1:00pm MRD Rehearsal @ Metropolitan Ballroom

3:00pm Afternoon/Evening free If you are interested (see times below . . . that’s A.M.), you are welcome to join us for our morning rehearsal at Herald Square. This certainly isn’t necessary, but it is a very unique part of the Macy’s experience. 1:30am MRD Report to Metropolitan Ballroom

• FULL Uniform • Instruments – NO CASES

Sheraton New York Hotel – Times Square 811 7th Avenue & 53rd Street New York, NY 10019 (212) 581-1000 www.sheratonnewyork.com

WEDNESDAY, November 27

THURSDAY, November 28 – THANKSGIVING DAY!

1:45am Band loads buses – depart by 2pm for NBC rehearsal @ Drop-off location . . . • The band will meet in sections and then when directed, move to Herald Square to run

our routine for the NBC producers. This is a very fast-paced and possibly challenging time when dealing with these TV producers and directors.

• After a few runs of our routine, we will return to the buses and then to the hotel.

3:00am Parade Dress Rehearsal at Herald Square

- After the NBC rehearsal, the band will be on a different schedule than guests. -

7:30am Recommended time to meet (hotel lobby) and walk to the grand stands.

9am-12pm MACY’S PARADE

Free day in City!

Consider using the hotel Concierge Desk to book tickets, tours, etc. Also, please visit the MRD website (Macy’s Page) for some recommended attractions.

FRIDAY, November 29

THE MARCHING ROYAL DUKES will be televised at 9:00am at the start of the parade, as well as at 10:00am for their Herald Square performance. You should consider setting your DVR!

GRAND STAND SEATS FOR THE PARADE All guests will be provided with complimentary Grand Stand tickets. We have been told that our tickets will be on Central Park South/59th Street. This is within walking distance of the hotel (6 blocks north). This area is just east of Columbus Circle (the first major turn in the parade), and the parade will pass directly in front of your stands.

You will have a front-row seat (well, as long as nobody is sitting in front of you) for the entire parade!

Return to JMU – Tentative Schedule 10am Checkout of hotel, board buses to return to Harrisonburg.

• Lunch stop en route. • Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, PA

5:30pm Estimated return time to JMU Convocation Center

SATURDAY, November 30

POSSIBLE PLAY-OFF SCENARIOS . . . #1 – if JMU does make it into the play-offs, and does have a game at home – ALL MRD members will return to JMU for the game (times T.B.D.) #2 – if JMU makes it into the play-offs and has an away game that is within 5-hours of NYC, the band will most likely travel from NYC to that game and then return to Harrisonburg after the game. DETAILS will be determined prior to our departure (Tuesday, November 26), and we will keep you posted if we find out our schedule is changing. IF THE BAND DOES HAVE TO DEAL WITH A PLAY-OFF GAME, the Guest Bus will return directly to JMU as planned. However, if guests wish to travel to the game, we can accommodate on the band buses . . . no really, we can . . . GO DUKES!!