Newcastle marching band The Marching Koalas will return from the USA next week having marched at the esteemed Pasadena Rose Parade in California.
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In the 129th edition of the New Year’s Day parade, the musicians represented Australia as one of only four international contingents invited to participate. The parade was televised on major US networks ABC and NBC to an estimated audience of 40 million people.
Around 120 people from the Hunter were in the US as part of tour, with children in the band billeted to local families in Newcastle’s sister city, Arcadia, which is 20kms north-east of Los Angeles and close to Pasadena.
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the band was formed after a band from Arcadia visited Newcastle in 1982.
Planned for 18 months, the tour of California is the band's 16th international trip since its inception 35 years ago.
