As director of bands at Milton High School in northern Georgia, Chris Shumick has taken his students on a trip across the country every other year.
Now in his 11th year at Milton, Shumick enjoys showing his kids what New York City and Los Angeles have to offer, with the help of Super Holiday Tours. Last year, the band went on a delayed trip to the Hollywood Christmas Parade in Los Angeles.
This year, Shumick took Milton to New York City for the NYC Veterans Day Parade in November. The trip went smoothly, with roughly 115 students joining in, including some students who didn’t join the trip last year. We talked with Shumick about how the parade went and what the experience means to him.
In general, how has 2022 been compared to 2021?
This year feels a lot like the old normal, if you will. Last year was about getting back in the swing of things and doing the things that we have typically done pre pandemic, and this year feels like we’ve reestablished what that means and the opportunities that the students have in the band program seem to be complete again.
That goes for travel too! Tell us about how your journeys with Milton got started and what’s changed.
Back in the fall of 2013, I had met Mark Drury, and we were talking about different trips. He was the one who filled me in on the Veterans Day Parade and that opportunity, so we put that together, and it was a great trip in 2014. We also learned a lot about how that community likes to travel, their wants and wishes. We had a great time, so we just kind of took some notes and started planning our second time up to New York in 2018.
It was just a tweaking of everything that we had done in 2014. Like, we found the students did not care for the long overnight bus ride. So, in 2018, instead of busing the kids up overnight, we flew. It did add price to the trip, but at the same time, that was a better way for us to travel.
Here in 2022, we had it pretty well ironed out. There were some new attractions in New York, so instead of going to Top of the Rock, we went to the new Hudson Yards observatory and just wanted to see the difference between the two. We tried a couple of different restaurants, but the itinerary by and large was pretty much the same, and the kids had a great time.
What was a highlight for this trip?
One of the things we do on this trip, is we give the students some free time with their friends in Times Square, which is not something every program allows students. But they know from previous groups that they will get some time to shop and walk around and not be under the watchful eye of adults and on a strict schedule. So, for the kids, I know that was a highlight for them, just be able to be with their friends, be slightly independent for a brief period of time while they explored the city on their own.
What makes this a great parade that you guys keep coming back to?
Obviously, it’s a great cause honoring the veterans, but it also is a very well attended parade. I mean, the streets are lined from the beginning to the end. This year, unfortunately, the only time it rained on the trip was during the parade, but it did not keep everyone from attending. There weren’t as many as usual, but it’s great for the students to have a large audience to perform for. The other thing that makes this parade unique is, how often do you get to march down Fifth Avenue? And so, just the venue itself and the destination is an attraction on its own.
Any final thoughts on your lovely trip to NYC?
There’s so much you can do in New York outside of the performance itself that you’re able to really give the kids a lot of experiences in just a few days. And when you plan it out well and you know where you’re going, you’re strategic about it. You don’t have to deal with the traffic and the transportation delays nearly as much, so working with Super Holiday, they know that. They have experience. They can put a trip together that will give you the most bang for your buck, which is one of the things that we enjoy about traveling with them.
Photos Courtesy of Group Photo, Inc.