Pride Of Broken Arrow Leaves For Rose Parade

The Pride of Broken Arrow band is in Los Angeles for the Rose Parade. They left on two charter flights to get everyone there Thursday, December 29, 2016.

They'll be doing a lot more than marching and playing.

"It's just going to be a great experience for the whole band," said Jaymeson West, class of 2019.

Once they get to LA, they've got quite a flashy schedule ahead of them: the Santa Monica Pier, the Hollywood sign, a red carpet party and - of course, Disneyland.

Some folks like the Dixons are making a family vacation out of it - mom, dad, three children and their grandmother are all going to be soaking in the sunshine.

"I lived there for a year, so I'm very excited to go and be with my family and let them see where I spent a lot of time," said band mom Kristina Dixon.

"I'm very happy to have my family go with me, because not a lot of people unfortunately have that opportunity," said tuba player Tyler Dixon.

Although it was a busy morning at Tulsa International when they left for LA, security lines weren't affected because the band went through their own separate security line.  A total of 360 people were on the charter flights, with another 200 friends and family going to California separately.

11/15/2016 Related Story: Pride Of Broken Arrow Marching Band Wins National Championship 

The Pride of Broken Arrow is marching in the Rose Parade at 10 a.m. Central time on Monday January 2nd. They're the only outside band from outside of California to be invited to the parade three times since 2009.

For the band's director, the third trip to the Rose Parade since 2009 is a well-deserved reward.

"One of the mantras for our band is to create life-changing experiences for our kids, and we think this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Darrin Davis, Pride of Broken Arrow director.