UPDATE: Morgantown High School band members will travel home Wednesday following completion of Tuesday’s Rose Bowl Parade. The members completed a 5.5 mile parade route before a large crowd.

Nearly 300 Morgantown residents are in sunny southern California to be on national TV for the New Year.

Morgantown High School Band members, school officials and chaperones flew to Pasadena, Calif. last week to prepare for Tuesday’s appearance in the Tournament of Roses Parade.

The parade is among the best known in the United States and features dozens of floats in its five-mile long trek through Los Angeles. It is one of the most prestigious parades for marching bands.

It’s not the first parade for the Morgantown Band. In 2009, band members marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

However, the Roses Parade is a bit more challenging, according to Jeff Davis, an auxiliary officer for the band.

“The kids get off the buses on the interstate exit and walk a mile to the beginning of the parade, then march the 5 1/2 mile parade, then walk a mile to the buses,” Davis said.

Still, Davis said band members are excited and honored to be a part of the event. The parade is held every year ahead of the Rose Bowl; this year Wisconsin is playing Stanford.

Band members have taken part in a lot of sightseeing over the week, including a visit to the Reagan Library, the L.A. farmers market, the Hollywood sign, and more.

Davis says band members are excited to march in the parade.

The school went through a lengthy fundraising campaign to help students pay for the expensive trip. Davis says the community, parents, and volunteers overwhelmingly supported the school and helped make the trip possible.

The parade begins Tuesday at 8 a.m. Pacific Time, 11 a.m. eastern.