For Liberty High Grenadiers, everything’s coming up roses — again

It's not your typical honeymoon.

Allen Frank got married on Dec. 14. Two weeks later, the assistant director of the Liberty High School Grenadier Band and his new wife flew to Pasadena, Calif., where they planned to do some sightseeing, hear live music and enjoy California cuisine.

That's where it gets complicated. Riding herd on more than 200 kids might put a damper on post-wedding bliss. The music isn't so dreamy, unless "Rule, Britannia!" melts your butter. And try being intimate in front of roaring crowds, with millions more from around the globe watching on TV.

But the couple couldn't ask for a better experience than the pageantry of the marching band equivalent of the Super Bowl. Frank and the rest of the Liberty High School Grenadier Band will march Wednesday morning in the 125h annual Rose Parade, one of 20 high school bands to perform in the legendary event.

The march begins at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday. It takes a 51/2-mile route on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Liberty will begin its march in the first third of the parade, the fourth band to depart.

"This is really a big event for the history of the band," said Director Kevin Long, himself a former member who graduated from Liberty in 1981. "It is a pinnacle point in the band's history that we're in the Rose Parade again."

It's both Long's and Frank's second trip to Pasadena. The president of the Tournament of Roses selected the Liberty band to perform in 2009. Bands apply for the honor, and the organization selected Liberty's application from 200 bands vying for the coveted spot. Long found out about the honor in November 2012.

"We're a very unique band," Frank said. "When you see them with the bearskin hats, the pipers it's not something you see very often."

For senior Drew Donaher, the Rose Parade is the event, the watershed moment, one he never thought he'd see.

"This is the best moment of my senior year," Donaher said.

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For Liberty High Grenadiers, everything's coming up roses — again

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