Hempfield Area band headed to London for New Year's Day parade to be broadcast live

All those Hempfield Area band hoagie sales are finally paying off.

High school band members leave Saturday for London to perform in its 2020 New Year’s Day parade after months of practices and intensive fundraising efforts.

More than 150,000 hoagies were sold to raise money for the $640,000 trip, said band director Brian Tychinski. The 152 students will play two songs from The Beatles — “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Drive My Car.” The group will be joined by about 20 chaperones and band staff.

They will perform “Lady Madonna,” another tune from The Beatles, during a two-minute stop at the end of the 1 1/2-mile parade route, Tychinski said.

The route starts at Piccadilly and winds through Trafalgar Square before ending on Parliament Street.

“The kids are super excited, it’s been 18 months to get here,” he said. “Especially in the last month, the kids have been bouncing off the walls counting down the days.

“The community support has been tremendous and we couldn’t have possibly done it without them,” he said.

In addition to the parade, the wind ensemble will play at a concert on Monday and the jazz band will play a VIP reception on Wednesday.

The band learned in June 2018 it was selected to participate in the 2020 London’s New Year’s Day Parade.

The parade will feature 10,000 participants, according to the event website. Pparticipants from around the globe include college, high school and community bands, car collectors, cheerleaders and other performers.

The parade will be broadcast live locally starting at 7 a.m. EST Wednesday on WQED Pittsburgh. It will be streamed online at lnydp.com.

The band will return Jan. 4.