Highlands Today
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Sebring Teens To Perform In Macy's Parade
From left: Brittany Alcorco, Heather Hendrix, Alli Zeegers, Kayla Tyson, Emily Hatley, Taryn Dasilva, T'chana Parris, Kati Sommers and Kendall Bachman.
Courtesy photo
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Published: November 20, 2008
SEBRING - As a child, Alli Zeegers would watch the twirling cheerleaders and the gigantic helium balloons of Mickey and Minnie wind their way down New York City as the nation celebrated Thanksgiving with the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.
One year her mother even joked to her, "That's going to be you one day."
This year, her family will be enjoying the annual tradition on TV as before but their eyes will be combing the TV set for one special blonde in a bright yellow cheerleading uniform with a big red star.
Alli is one of nine cheerleaders from Sebring High School bound for New York City to be a part of the mammoth celebration of floats, balloons and performers that has marked Thanksgiving Day for 81 years.
The students leave Saturday morning and start practicing their routines once they get there. Then there is more practice and synchronization for the 2,000-plus cheerleaders – about six hours daily – until the big day.
Sometime in between, the students get whisked to see the usual New York sights – the Empire State Building, a Broadway show, Chinatown and the Radio City Rockettes - until they return the following Saturday.
The weather is supposed to be in the 30s and the Florida girl may be nervous about being outdoors for three hours in a cheerleading uniform, but she's excited more than anything else.
"This is my first trip to New York City," she said. "I'm very excited."
Sebring High School's cheerleading coach Carolyn Shoemaker has sampled some of that New York chilly late November weather and the parade festivity.
"It's really cold," she remembered of her trip one year when the temperature was below zero.
"You have to walk all the way and the girls have to wear hand warmers and leggings."
For the last 20 years, Sebring High has been sending a contingent of cheerleaders to Macy's.
All the girls going this year are seniors.
Getting there took a lot of community support, countless fundraisers and strenuous practice. But it's all worth it, Shoemaker added.
"It's one of those life experiences," she said. "When you are 50, you can say, 'I was in the Macy's parade.'"
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