For the first time in the school's history, Franklin Regional High School played in the presidential inaugural parade.
The honor had eluded the school for years, but last year it received the call that the group would represent all of Pennsylvania on Inauguration Day.
The band's instructor, Kevin Pollock, began the lengthy application process at the beginning of the school year, but Pollock warned his students not to get their hopes up. He had been applying for national parades for years and successfully entered Franklin Regional into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Parade in Pasedena.
But the inauguration remained elusive -- until this year.
The band's playlist for the parade represented the Keystone State by playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy," which has ties to Pennsylvania. The show also included costumed characters, like Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross.
The band left early Friday for Washington. Band members didn't do any fundraising for the trip, because they didn't know if they'd get selected, so the students' parents paid for the trip.
SPECIAL SECTION: Complete inauguration coverage
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