After being chosen as the first high school band from El Paso to perform in the 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., the Pebble Hills High School marching band is hard at work raising money to make their once-in-a-lifetime trip a reality.
The band’s fundraising efforts kicked off with a spaghetti dinner and concert on April 25, where they welcomed Tournament of Roses President Ed Morales and his wife, Lisa Morales, to the high school. At the event, Ed Morales presented the official Tournament of Roses flag to the band and formally invited the Spartans to perform at the 136th Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 2025.
“This band is amazing!” Ed Morales told the audience in the school’s cafeteria. “We’re so excited to have you. We like to call ourselves one big family, so now Pebble Hills High School is part of this 136-year-old tradition that we call the Rose Parade.”
Pebble Hills High School is one of 20 bands from around the world selected to perform at the parade and Bandfest, a two-day festival where bands present their field shows at the Pasadena City College Mack and Jackie Robinson Stadium. The 2025 theme for the Tournament of Roses is “Best Day Ever.”
Band director Maximo Sierra said it was a “big deal” for the Spartans to be invited to the iconic Rose Parade, which is attended by thousands of spectators and broadcast nationally before the Rose Bowl game. Sierra emphasized the Pebble Hills band students will not only be showcasing the high school. They will also represent the Socorro Independent School District, El Paso and the U.S. for millions of people around the world.
“We’re a hardworking group, and the culture that we built here at Pebble Hills, we have really nice students,” Sierra said. “The lessons that these (band) students get from being in the program are very valuable, and the experience that they will have by attending the Rose Parade, they're going to reflect on it, and they're going to be like, ‘I marched in that!’ or they'll tell their kids, ‘I did that!’”
The band includes about 300 students. Sierra estimated that they will need to raise at least $1,700 per student for the trip.
Band members sold about 1,000 tickets for a dinner that was prepared by Pebble Hills High School culinary arts students. The meals were served by booster parents, who also decorated the tables with fresh red roses in honor of the evening’s special guests. The spaghetti dinner and concert were the first of multiple fundraising events the band has planned throughout the year.
Attendees had the opportunity to enjoy a live concert by the award-winning band in the cafeteria. In 2023, the marching band, which has received numerous accolades, advanced to the UIL 6A Texas State Marching Contest.
Sophomore Alyssa Garcia loves to play her clarinet with the band. She is excited to perform in the parade on New Year's Day and helped sell dinner tickets.
“It feels amazing just to see all of our hard work finally getting paid off,” Garcia said. “It's a great feeling.”
Even though this was his first time traveling to El Paso, Ed Morales has a special connection to the city. While passing through the city, his grandparents were married in a church in downtown El Paso. He said Rose Parade bands go through extensive fundraising to cover their expenses for the Pasadena trip, but he was grateful for the community's support in helping the Spartans get closer to achieving their dream.
“We appreciate everything everyone is doing to get the band from El Paso to Pasadena on January 1st,” Ed Morales said. “It does take a village, and we appreciate everyone's help.”