MIHS band considers London, Rose Bowl trips

The Mercer Island High School marching band is considering two possible trips in upcoming years after being invited to march in the 2011 New Years Day parade in London and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. in January of 2012.

While participation and interest are still being gauged, the trip to the United Kingdom would be roughly a week and is estimated to cost $3,000 per student.

Every year approximately 10 bands from middle schools through universities in the United States are invited to participate in the London New Years Day parade, which travels through the streets of the West End of London.

According to the parade’s official Web site more than 10,000 performers representing 20 countries are expected to perform during the parade.

The band most recently traveled to the Rose Bowl in January 2006 where it took 270 students to California. The band also applied to march in the Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C. in 2009, but was not chosen to participate.