USC's marching band, the Carolina Band, is headed to New York City in just 36 days to perform at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in its 104-year history.
On Thanksgiving Day, the Carolina Band will march through the streets of Manhattan, accompanied by balloons, floats and Broadway performers. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been an annual celebration since 1924. A spot on the parade lineup gives the Carolina Band the chance to perform for national audiences.
The Carolina Band is one of only four collegiate level bands chosen to perform in the 2024 parade. The group learned it was selected in September of 2023, and members began fundraising that day to meet its goal of $645,000.
But over a year later, the band still has a little under $225,000 remaining to raise by Nov. 28 to fund the performance in New York City. It was unclear where the rest of the funding would come from at the time of The Daily Gamecock's reporting.
As of Oct. 22, the band had fundraised just over $420,000 of its $645,000 goal. But as as of Oct. 29, the amount the Carolina Band has fundraised could no longer be seen on its crowdfunding page.
School of Music Marketing Director Marlena Crovatt-Bagwell wrote to The Daily Gamecock Tuesday that "the trip IS assured and all costs will be met," despite how much money is raised.
A screenshot of the Carolina Band's crowdfunding page. The site has been updated to not include the amount of money raised as of Oct. 29.
USC is not funding all of the band’s week-long trip to New York, but students will not have to pay for the trip. The university is providing resources to source crowdfunded donations through a USC website, university spokesperson Collyn Taylor told The Daily Gamecock.
“USC has provided Development resources as well as marketing and communications support and some monetary assistance," Taylor said. “The fundraising has been spearheaded by the development offices at USC and the School of Music for more than a year.”
Colleges and schools within USC have taken on a key role as donors for the parade. These schools fundraise and receive money from the university, which they allocate as they see fit. According to the band’s crowdfunding website, donations have been collected ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 from USC’s colleges.
“We’ve been sponsored by (the College of Hospitality),” Thompson said. “They’re helping pay for our section T-shirts this year. I'm sure they’ve donated some money to Macy’s too.”
The College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management contributed $18,000 to the trumpet section, according to crowdfunding records. Other large donations have come from businesses. The contributors include Brittons of Columbia, Founders Credit Union, Kendra Scott and SC Federal Credit Union, among others. Macy’s donated $10,000.
M, a second-year band member who spoke to The Daily Gamecock on the condition of only going by her initial, said she was frustrated over the university's contributions to the parade. The band contributes to the student experience and makes a big impact on the school, she said.
“The fact that we have to fund about half of this through just donations is a little much in my opinion," M said. "The band is, in general, under appreciated. We are much more appreciated here than anywhere else I’ve ever played at, but seeing that in the school can be disheartening.”
Emma Bassett, a third-year environmental studies student and mellophone player, said she appreciated the support the band has received since fundraising began.
“(We’re) always grateful," Bassett said. "Could people be doing more? Yes, but I’m not going to complain because they’re doing what they can."
Following the parade, the band members will head to Clemson, where they will play at South Carolina's annual rivalry football game against Clemson. The quick turnaround and possibility of delays from Thanksgiving travel means the band will be taking a bus for its journey, M said.
First-year music education major and saxophone player Dereek Jones-Tucker said he is still hoping the team can raised the funds by asking students, alumni and faculty to contribute whatever they can to their performance and the school of music as a whole.
“Support the school of music more," Jones-Tucker said. "We have good concerts even outside of the wind ensembles, there's orchestra, strings, stuff like that."
More information can be found on its crowdfunding page.