Bellwood-Antis graduate Sarah Berkowitz (2022) recently took part in a world renown parade with her college West Chester University. Outside of her course work, she is apart of the West Chester University INCOMPARABLE Golden Rams. Sarah originally joined the Ram Band as a freshman clarinet player, however this year, she worked as a uniform assistant.
“I work on making sure that everyone has a uniform that fits and repair any damages that occur throughout the season,” Berkowitz explained. “I enjoy helping the band look their best when they go out on the field!”
This year, the West Chester University INCOMPARABLE Golden Rams had the fortunate opportunity to attend and perform in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
The Rose Parade, which is also know as the Tournament of Roses Parade, is an annual parade held on New Year’s Day before one of the major bowl games in college football, the Rose Bowl. It was first held on January 1st, 1890 and has been uninterrupted except during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade features flower-covered floats, twenty marching bands from around the world, and equestrian unites.
The parade itself is five and a half miles long, and around eight hundred thousand people from all over gathered to watch it.
West Chester was among marching bands anywhere from Costa Rica, Sweden, and Japan, however they were the only band from Pennsylvania to attend. The bands were selected by the association’s volunteer members based on a variety of criteria including musicianship, marching ability, and entertainment or special interest value.
“For the parade, I was responsible for carrying one of thirty flags in a mural we marched down Colorado Boulevard,” Sarah said.
The WCU Golden Rams left for California on December 28th in preparation for the parade on the first of 2024. While there, Berkowitz saw things such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Disneyland, Santa Monica Pier, and a tour of the Warner Brother’s studio. They eventually wrapped the trip up on January 2nd after some airport trouble and hectic delays due to the new year.
“I think my favorite part of being a member of a band is the connections you make with your teammates and the fans. I also enjoy interacting with the fans of the band.” Berkowitz remarked. “When we were in the airport, we had people coming over to congratulate us on our “Road to the Roses.” There is a great sense of community that surrounds the band both on and off the field.”
Sarah documented her trip on her Facebook page as to keep everyone in the loop about what’s going on and where they can watch the live streamed parade at. Overall, the parade was a smashing success.
“My favorite part of the Rose Parade is really hard to determine. There were many great moments,” Sarah started. “[A] moment that I will remember vividly was at the end of the parade. We had more than twenty thousand live flowers as part of our show, and the band members all took flowers, but we still had a bunch left so we started handing them out to the crowd.”
Sarah has met many friends through Ramband and so traveling to California was a great way to make memories with them!
“It was an incredibly unreal and INCOMPARABLE experience!”
