Plymouth Briefcase Drill Team to March Today in Macy's Parade

Fred Hill Briefcase Drill Team to march in today's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

A local parade favorite is hitting the national stage today, as the Fred Hill Briefcase Drill Team marches in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The 17-member group, led by Fred Hill, is based in Plymouth and has appeared frequently at parade in Plymouth and around Metro Detroit. The group will perform "One Very Tricky Briefcase Maneuver." Last year, the Plymouth-Canton area also was represented in the parade. The Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Marching Band performed The Grinch on national television The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade steps off at 9 a.m. and will be televised nationally on NBC. 

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Good Morning, Plymouth and Canton! ~ 'Band Dad' Alan Adler

After a whirlwind tour of the Big Apple -- and a performance in Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade -- the Plymouth-Canton Marching Band is scheduled to arrive home today.

Alan Adler embodies the spirit of most parents of Plymouth-Canton Marching Band members -- the pride and joy of all enthusiastic Band Dad and Band Moms. Adler's daughter, Gena Adler, plays clarinet for the PCMB. While Canton Patch band-mom blogger Peggy Fenwick has been chronicling the adventures of the band and their supporter in New York City, Adler and many others stayed home, doing their best to catch a glimpse of the the marching band's performance on television. If you'd like to record a Good Morning, Canton! segment, email Canton Patch editor Peg McNichol at peg.mcnichol@patch.com.

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Good Morning, Plymouth-Canton ~ Plymouth-Canton Marching Band

Four senior band members with a reminder of how to see the band in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

Among the dozens of Plymouth-Canton Marching Band members performing in Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade today are four seniors: drum major Grace Wine, bass trombonist Jason Jakary, trumpter Matt Kempfer, baritone saxophonist Michael Wolf and clarinetist Michael Fluegemann. The five student musicians recorded today's greeting on Monday, just before boarding buses to New York City and this morning's performance in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jakary, of Plymouth, is a Salem High student who distinguished himself this year musically by being selected for the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band. He'll march in the halftime performance of the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, TX, on Jan. 7, 2012. Follow the band's New York adventure …

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Peg McNichol

11:47 am on Thursday, November 24, 2011

Good eye, Jenny! I'm very thankful for readers who help me out like this ~ hope you have a great Thanksgiving!   more ›

Plymouth-Canton Marching Band Takes Show on Road to New York City

The Plymouth-Canton Educational Park band is the first from Michigan invited to perform in Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

Members of the Plymouth-Canton Marching Band piled into tour buses and headed to New York City on Monday night. The band, comprising 175 students, will perform in Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade — and tour the city before returning home Saturday. The students, their teachers, the parent-chaperones and other family members — 341 people in all — will tour the Big Apple, see The Lion King on Broadway, maybe buy hot dogs from a street vendor and endure marathon bus rides as part of the round trip. "One of the challenges is when we get off the bus at 6 a.m., we're having breakfast and starting our tours," said Peggy Fenwick, mother of percussionist Ryan Fenwick, trip chaperone and Canton Patch's band-mom blogger. "There's no check-in to our …

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Good Morning, Plymouth! ~ John Jackson

John Jackson gives a sendoff to Plymouth-Canton's Marching Band, performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

During his time on Plymouth-Canton Community Schools' board of education, John Jackson has been supportive of the Plymouth-Canton Marching Band. This morning, the outgoing board president offers a special wish to the marching band members and their parents -- more than 350 area residents just days before they board buses to New York City. The band is the first from Michigan invited to play in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. If you'd like to record a Good Morning, Plymouth! segment, email Plymouth Patch editor John McKay at John.McKay@patch.com.

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Good Morning, Plymouth and Canton! ~ Eileen Wiley

The Plymouth-Canton Marching Band hosts the Great Lakes Invitational today.

Eileen Wiley knew exactly what reminder she wanted to share for a joint Plymouth-Canton Good Morning! message: Support the Plymouth-Canton Marching Band. In addition to hosting the annual Great Lakes Invitational band competition, which is today at 5 p.m. at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park stadium, the band is slated to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

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Peggy Fenwick

8:21 am on Saturday, October 29, 2011

Nice job, Eileen! See you at Canton High for a fun day of bands, fans, and food!   more ›

Five Things You Need to Know June 14, 2011

It's Flag Day; Pepsi gives P-CEP band a fundraising shot the 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a grant for Detroit Area Diaper Bank.

One: The main item on today's Plymouth-Canton Community Schools' board agenda is the budget, which must be finalized by the end of this month. The board will present a Volunteer in Public Schools Extra Miler Award tonight. The meeting is at 7 p.m. today in the district offices of the E.J. McClendon Education Center, 454 S. Harvey St., Plymouth. Two: The Detroit Area Diaper Bank, Inc. has been selected as Monday's "Summer of Sharing" grant recipient by Community Financial Members Federal Credit Union, which donated $1,060 to the non-profit."This grant will enable us to procure more than 10,000 diapers for our smallest neighbors in need," the diaper bank's announcement on Facebook said. Three: The Canton Township board of trustees meeting …

Viewfinder: P-CEP Wind Ensemble in Kellogg Park

A special performance by the students at Plymouth, Canton and Salem high schools wows a packed Kellogg Park.

Music was in the air Thursday night in Kellogg Park, as the P-CEP wind ensemble delivered an inspired performance. The high school band -- freshly upbeat after accepting a $10,000 award from Bank of Ann Arbor -- played to a packed park of proud family and friends, as well as patrons from Plymouth and beyond.  Musical numbers ranged from light melodies to rousing compositions, marked by booming drums and the deep tones of a tubas and bassoons. The concert marks the beginning of the band's season, which culminates in Novmeber with an appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- an honor bestowed upon a select few high school bands nationwide each year.  

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