The Gypsy Day parade is great. But this is even better.

Instead of pounding down Main Street, the Northern State University Marching Wolves will be marching down Pennsylvania Avenue on Jan. 20. The group will be the only South Dakota representative in the Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C.

At a news conference called to announce Northern's selection, the director of the Marching Wolves re-enacted a ritual he maintains at each rehearsal.

"What kind of day is it today?" Boyd Perkins asked the many band members who attended the gathering.

"It's a great day for marching band!" the students shouted.
"We have always known that the performing arts are a center of excellence at Northern State University,"said NSU president Patrick Schloss. "But now President Bush knows that."

Bush's office makes the final selections for the parade choices. "And believe me, it was based on merit," said Schloss, who donned a band hat for the announcement. Anyone who's ever seen the Marching Wolves perform "knows it was based on merit," he said.

The Marching Wolves consist of 125 to 130 students. About $65,000 is needed to pay their way to Washington.

The musicians will travel by bus. They are expected to leave Aberdeen Jan. 17 and return Jan. 21.

Making history: It will be the first time in the history of NSU that the Marching Wolves will participate in a presidential inaugural parade. The Northern marching band was organized in 1941.

Perkins said it will be a "huge honor" for the group to participate in the parade and witness history. "We're going to go there and we're going to make them proud," he said.

The Marching Wolves have performed at professional football games and regional marching band festivals. In 2002, the NSU Symphonic Band performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

But the Inaugural Parade is the most significant event "that any music ensemble at Northern has ever had an opportunity to participate in," said Alan LaFave, NSU's dean of fine arts and director of bands.

The Northern administrators have been told that the Marching Wolves are the only South Dakota entity of any kind - high school, college or otherwise - that will be taking part in the Inaugural Parade.

Northern was notified of the Marching Wolves' selection Friday. On Monday, the administrators determined that the trip was feasible.

Raising funds: A "very aggressive fund-raising" effort will be carried out in the the next two to three weeks to help pay for the trip, LaFave said. The marching band members will not be asked to provide funding, but NSU will ask them to help with fund-raising, Schloss said.

A lot of work has gone into making the honor possible, LaFave said. But the Marching Wolves were chosen to participate because of the quality of the students involved, LaFave said.

'Fired-up group': The Marching Wolves were chosen, Perkins said, "because we are a fired-up group." The enthusiasm and the pride of the students were the most important factors in the selection, he said.

It also helped that the Marching Wolves got an early start this year as part of their preparations for the Korean War Memorial dedication in Pierre on Sept. 18.

At Monday's news conference, Schloss conveyed special thanks to Gov. Mike Rounds, Sen. Tim Johnson, Rep. Stephanie Herseth and Sen.-elect John Thune "for their help in making this a reality."

Rounds was impressed by the Marching Wolves' performance in Pierre. The governor, the NSU administrators said, played a key role in getting the group considered for the Inaugural Parade.

  ¶ 9:15 PM