Fayetteville high school marching band races to raise $100K for chance to perform in Chicago

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — The beat of the drums may be loud, but the message from E.E. Smith High School’s Magnificent Marching Machine is simple: help us get to Chicago.

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The nationally recognized Fayetteville high-stepping high school marching band has been invited to perform in the 2026 Chicago Thanksgiving Parade, giving more than 100 student musicians the opportunity to represent not only Fayetteville but also the entire state of North Carolina on one of the country’s longest-running Thanksgiving Day parades.

Now, the band is racing against the clock. With less than four months until the parade, the Magnificent Marching Machine is working to raise $100,000 to cover transportation, hotel stays, meals and other travel expenses for approximately 110 students and staff.

“This is a big deal,” said band director Adam Sobers. “We’re hoping to give them the opportunity to tour the Obama Presidential Center, which just opened. And just getting out of North Carolina. A lot of folks in our community don’t get away until college.”

Sobers said transportation alone makes up nearly half of the fundraising goal.

“A lot of your expense usually comes from charter bus travel,” he said. “For this trip, the charter buses are running us about $50,000 for three charter buses for four days. Then you add in the lodging, and you’ve got to make sure the kids eat every day. Those things add up very quickly.”

For many students, the trip would be more than a parade performance. It would be their first opportunity to travel outside North Carolina and experience a major city while showcasing the school’s signature high-stepping show-style performance before a national audience.

Sobers said the invitation is another milestone for a program that continues to build its reputation beyond Cumberland County.

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“We are trying to add to the resume and elevate as we go from there,” he said.

As the band prepares during summer band camp, students are already putting in long hours to build the endurance and precision needed for the performance.

“Band camp gets kids ready and prepared for the season as a whole,” Sobers said. “Getting those legs in shape for the marching style, looking clean and being able to do it without being too winded.”

Sobers said the trip is about much more than music.

“The reason I became a band director is literally what I saw my high school band director do for so many kids,” he said. “I’m just trying to pay it forward and give back.”

His motivation, he says, has never changed.

“It’s all about the kids. It’s all about the kids,” Sobers said.

The band is asking businesses, churches, community organizations and individual donors to help make the trip possible. Every donation will go toward lodging, meals, transportation and student activities.

Anyone interested in supporting the Magnificent Marching Machine can donate to E.E. Smith High School Magnificent Marching Machine’s Band Boosters’ Cash App $eesmithmmm or email Adam Sobers at [email protected]. 

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