MOULTRIE, Ga. – The Colquitt County 50th Regiment Band will march in the Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade this year and director of bands Liz Savage is already deep into planning for the trip, which also includes a three-day sightseeing stay in New York City.

The trip to play in the parade will be the band’s first since 2014 and the fund-raising and logistical work are well under way.

The band, directors and chaperones will leave Moultrie on Sunday, Nov. 24, and bus to New York, where they will spend the next three days.

On Wednesday, Nov. 27, the group will travel to Philadelphia and the students will march in what is billed as the oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade in the country the next day.

The next morning, the band will travel back to south Georgia and return in time to play at what is expected to be a Colquitt County playoff football game that night.

“This will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for a lot of these kids,” Savage said. “It’s something they’ll never forget.

“I want to take every kid. I don’t want to leave any kids behind, especially if it’s because of money.”

Savage says she expects to have about 160 students in the band next year and the cost will be between $750-$850 per child.

She estimates the entire cost of trip to between $175,000 and $225,000.

“And our goal is that the whole band goes,” said Savage, who also took the band to Philadelphia and New York in 2014. “And not all of our kids will be able to pay for the trip.”

The 50th Regiment is hoping to get a head start on its fund-raising this winter and spring.

Its annual fruit sale will be undertaken again, as will several new fund-raisers, including sales of bed sheets. A Go-Fund Me page also is being considered.

Corporate sponsors are being sought and the band is challenging the community to help out.

Savage said individual band members have pledged to work as volunteers for businesses or individuals in the community in exchange for donations.

The trip will be entertaining and educational for those who make it.

In New York, the students will see a Broadway show, tour the 9-11 site and museum, visit Little Italy and Chinatown, go to Central Park, take a bus tour of the city, go to the Top of the Rock and eat at some notable restaurants.

Band members also will be able to sightsee in Philadelphia — including visiting the Liberty Bell and the National Constitution Center — and will eat dinner at the Hard Rock Café there after marching in the parade.

Savage said the opportunity to march again in Philadelphia will help build a resume that could get the 50th Regiment an invitation to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

The Colquitt County band has not marched in the Macy’s parade since the late 1980s.

Savage said she is expecting a larger and more proficient 50th Regiment next school year.

For the first time, eighth-graders were included in the marching band this school year and Savage was pleased with the addition.

She also noted that there are some 200 members of the sixth- and seventh-grade bands, up from about 100 when she took over the Colquitt County program in 2012.

A more demanding fall schedule that included new competitions against top-flight bands also helped the 50th Regiment’s development.

“It was a fantastic fall for our band,” Savage said. “We didn’t place like we wanted to, but we went up against some of the best bands in the country. It was a great experience.”

In the spring, the State Large Band Performance Evaluations will be held, with concert bands being judged.

The Jazz Band will compete at ABAC and Savage said the group is available to play anywhere in the community.

The Prism Concert, featuring the bands in grades 6 through 12, will be presented later in the school year.