Upon arrival to New York City, the Lancers visited numerous sites including Toys R Us at Times Square - the largest toy store in the world, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
On Saturday, March 16th, the Lancers once again proudly took their place in the World's largest and oldest parade in front of over 1.5 million people, and millions more on television.
Most notable moments:
- At 12:30, for the first time in it's history, the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade stopped. Millions turned south, looking down Fifth Avenue in the direction of The Site, in memory and honor of those lost on September 11th. The cheer that shattered the silence was a literal southward moving wave of vocal emotion that echoed through the caverns of buildings.
- When the Lancers joined the parade route and started playing "God Bless America", many in the crowd started singing. One student said later, "When I heard them singing [with us], it was hard to keep it together. I almost lost it. It was amazing."
- The day before the parade, while touring midtown, the Lancers saw a NYC fire engine heading downtown. The band broke out in 170 spontaneous cheers, waving to the firefighters, some yelling "Thank you!". The engine slowed up, turned on every light, and the firefighters waved back, and more than one of them was a bit choked up.
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