Fishers High School's Marching Tiger Band found out during a Saturday rehearsal that it had been chosen for one of the most coveted stages in American pageantry: the 2028 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. The more than 200-student ensemble was selected as one of just 10 high school bands worldwide to march in the parade's 139th edition, and now faces a 4,000-mile round trip and a fundraising campaign to get there.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools announced that the Marching Tiger Band would represent the district on the parade route, according to Fox 59. The band learned the news during rehearsal this past Saturday in Fishers, and it will mark the first time the Fishers program has ever marched in the Rose Parade. Applications for the 2028 event came in from bands across Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan and the United States, according to the same report, while additional reporting from LarryInFishers notes that Puerto Rico was also represented among the international high school lineup.
“Fishers High School is honored to show the world its performing arts dedication and commitment,” Elijah Gardner said in a statement released through the district, per Fox 59's report. Matt Kegley added that the Marching Tiger Band “earned its Rose Parade spot through talent, discipline and countless hours of work,” according to the same release.
A Grueling 4,000-Mile Trip Ahead
Getting to Pasadena will require moving more than 200 students, plus instruments, uniforms and equipment, using two box trucks and a semi-trailer, a logistical undertaking WTHR has detailed in its coverage of the trip. The school has already begun raising funds to cover the cost of transporting the band and its gear to California for the January 2028 event.
Cross-country marching band travel doesn't come cheap. Travel and equipment costs for high school and collegiate bands heading to the Rose Parade can average roughly $3,500 per student performer, according to prior Hoodline reporting on marching band finances — a scale of expense that has pushed other selected programs toward major crowdfunding drives of their own.
Marching Route Winds Through Pasadena
The parade itself covers a 5.5-mile route through Pasadena, stretching from near Green Street and Orange Grove Boulevard, turning onto Colorado Boulevard, and finishing near Villa Street, per LarryInFishers. That march typically takes participating units about two hours to complete. The Rose Parade is traditionally held every January 1 and draws more than 700,000 spectators in person along with an estimated 50 million television viewers, and it's held in conjunction with the Rose Bowl Game, part of the College Football Playoff.
Selection isn't a rubber stamp. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Music Committee evaluates applications on musicianship, marching ability, uniqueness and entertainment value, and bands must submit video footage showing field-show maneuvers and forward-marching turns in full uniform — a process that can take up to 18 months to complete before the parade itself.
A Program Already Built for the National Stage
This isn't Fishers' first appearance on a major televised stage. The Marching Tiger Band made its national parade debut at the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City after being selected from more than 100 applicants, performing a routine set to The Nutcracker Suite in Manhattan. That same year, the band finished 4th at the Indiana State School Music Association Class A State Finals and 12th at the Bands of America Grand National Championship.
Director of Bands Chad Kohler has been central to that rise, having also led the school's percussion ensembles to three Winter Guard International World Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2022, in addition to state marching honors. Kohler also works nationally as a marching band arranger and adjudicator, according to background from Music for All's education program.
Fishers' invitation follows a broader recent moment for Indiana marching ensembles in Pasadena. In January 2026, the Indiana University Marching Hundred performed in the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game, marking the first time an Indiana university band had appeared in the parade since 1968, according to footage of the performance. Behind the scenes of every parade, the Tournament of Roses Association leans on 935 active volunteer members known as White Suiters, who log more than 80,000 hours annually across 31 committees to stage the event.
With roughly 16 months until the 139th Rose Parade steps off, the focus for Fishers now shifts to raising the money needed to get its students, instruments and equipment across the country. For a program that has already climbed from state finals to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to a Rose Parade invitation, the fundraising push is the next hurdle standing between Fishers and Pasadena.
