ORWIGSBURG - A Blue Mountain High School senior will march the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the third and final time.
Jeffrey Lazarchick, a member of the high school marching band, will play the alto saxophone in the 9 a.m. parade Thanksgiving Day as a member of The Macy's Great American Marching Band, which includes students from all 50 states.
The parade will be broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon on NBC-TV.
Lazarchick has gone to the event for the previous two years after submitting an application and being accepted. The cost for the trip is $1,600, which includes lodging, transportation costs a Broadway show and other expenses.
The local musician turned 18 on Nov. 24 and said he is looking forward to spending time with friends and meeting new ones.
"You can have these friends that last forever," he said Wednesday.
He left Saturday with his parents for a hotel in New Jersey where he other members of the band are staying. Chaperones will also be there. He will return on Friday.
While Lazarchick will get to take in the sights, he said he is looking forward to visiting his favorite restaurant, Junior's.
But the trip won't be all fun and games. For their moment in the spotlight, band members will practice up to eight hours a day, Lazarchick said.
He said the band will play a medley of Christmas music before reaching Herald Square where it will play the song "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
"It's a great learning experience if you're a musician," Lazarchick said, adding it is an opportunity to meet other like-minded people.