Gia Parker wearing Spirit of America cheer uniform

A Broadway show, taking the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, a visit to the Empire State Building, riding the subway, and of course shopping - this would add up to a pretty amazing visit to New York City. But for Binghamton High School freshman Gia Parker, these were all side dishes to the main course of her Thanksgiving trip to the Big Apple. Parker was one of just two athletes from New York State to perform with Spirit of America Production’s cheer performance at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“It was exhausting and crazy, but really fun,” Parker said.

Parker's appearance at the parade was eight months in the making. She signed up in March for a chance to perform, then submitted an audition video of a routine and tumbling skills in August. In September, she found out she was selected. Parker received the parade routine from Spirit of America on November 1st, giving her about three weeks to learn it before she left for New York for one action-packed week.

“I was there for about a week,” Parker said. “We got there and had some time to relax, then we had a two hour practice at the end of the day. The next day, they give you breakfast, then you practice, then we had a break for something fun to do - we went and saw Hell’s Kitchen - then came back and had another practice. Next day, same thing: practiced again, then we went to the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 memorial, and the Oculus. Then we went back to practice.”

Wash, rinse, repeat each day leading up to the parade. On Thanksgiving morning, it was up at 3:00 a.m. for Parker and the rest of the Spirit performers for hair and makeup. The group - 600 cheerleaders and 650 dancers - then had to take turns boarding trains to get to their starting point. There, they waited for two hours in the rainy, chilly weather before they started marching - plenty of time to get to know people from all over the United States.

“There were people from all over - a lot of them from Texas, someone from California, two girls from Alaska,” Parker said.

Once they started walking the parade route, they waved to spectators, shouted some cheers, and took in the experience. Then, two-and-a-half miles from their starting point, the main event at Herald Square where the cheer team performed for the crowd and television cameras. Parker was back to her hotel room around noon to dry off, warm up, and finally relax after a whirlwind nine-hour morning. She returned to Binghamton the next day and is now considering doing it all over again next year.

“I’d like to know what the weather is going to be like in advance, but I’d definitely do it again,” Parker said with a laugh.