Kerrington Gage, a 16-year-old drumline captain at Nampa High School, has been selected to perform with the Macy's Great American Marching Band in the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is set for Thursday, Nov. 26, and Gage's family of six plans to travel roughly 2,500 miles from Nampa to New York City to watch.
Gage started percussion in sixth grade, first playing snare and later moving to bass drum, according to idahonews.com. At Nampa High, she plays drumset in the jazz band and marches with the Marching Dawgs; she is also a varsity track thrower, per the Idaho Press.
A fellow Nampa-area percussionist helped put the opportunity on Gage's radar. Kylee Overlin, a Ridgevue High School musician, performed in the 2025 parade, according to a GoFundMe campaign from that year. Gage and her family watched the broadcast on NBC and Peacock before she auditioned. NBCUniversal said the 2025 parade drew 34.3 million viewers.
A National Stage, With Conflicting Headcounts
Reports give different counts for the ensemble. The Idaho Press says 180 high school performers were selected, while Auburn University Bands, which coordinates the group, lists 185 musicians plus roughly 40 flags and dancers. The Times Reporter also reported that three Claymont High School students were chosen through the national audition process.
A National Band With a 2006 Start
Auburn University Bands says the Macy's Great American Marching Band began in 2006, when Macy's partnered with Music Festivals & Tours to assemble it. Unlike a school band performing as its own unit, this ensemble brings together selected student musicians from across the country. The parade itself dates to 1924: Macy's history says the original route ran from West 145th Street and Convent Avenue in Harlem to the store on West 34th Street in Herald Square. The 2026 event is billed as the parade's 100th edition.
Back home in Nampa, Gage has support from band director Jared Sene as she prepares for the trip. “It's truly once in a lifetime,” she said, according to the Idaho Press report. Her father, Ryan Gage, said the parade will be the largest crowd his daughter has ever performed for, adding that he and his wife are proud of her hard work.
Friends Step In To Fund A Family Trip
Friends helped the Gages plan for the cost of traveling to New York during Thanksgiving week. Family friend Heidi Curtis, who has served as a music pastor alongside Ryan and Ashley Gage at College Church of the Nazarene for a decade, launched a fundraiser for the trip. Curtis said she and her husband, Ron, have previously helped take hundreds of children and their families to the city.
As of Friday afternoon, Curtis's fundraiser had raised $3,380 from 68 donations, reaching 97 percent of its $3,500 goal. A separate GoFundMe organized for the family had raised $5,093 from 125 donations by that same point, reaching 93 percent of its $5,500 goal. Ryan Gage said the donations made the family's trip possible, allowing all six of them, Ryan, Ashley, Kerrington, Keller, Keefer and Keegan, to travel together.
What's Next For The Family Of Six
Beyond the parade route, the Gage family has a sightseeing list ready. Kerrington plans to visit Central Park and the Statue of Liberty, along with Broadway shows including The Lion King and the Rockettes, during the trip. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. across all time zones on Thursday, Nov. 26, according to ABC 7 New York.
