Photo courtesy of Jessica Conklin.
Homewood Middle School cheerleaders Kate Parsons (left) and AnnahLilly Conklin (right) are set to perform in the Orlando Thanksgiving Tour parade at Disney World on Nov. 22.
Two of Homewood Middle School’s eighth grade cheerleaders will be marching in a Thanksgiving parade at Disney World this week.
The Orlando Thanksgiving Tour parade, which is organized by the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA), takes place Nov. 21-24 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. This is the first time that Homewood Middle School will be represented in the Thanksgiving Tour.
Kate Parsons and Annah Lilly Conklin, both UCA All-American cheerleaders, were given the opportunity to perform in the parade after trying out at a UCA camp.
The parade will include cheerleaders from 25 states, split according to state into two teams: Team Minnie and Team Mickey. Cheerleaders from Alabama, including Kate and Annah Lilly, were assigned to Team Mickey, so they will perform on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 2:20 p.m. Eastern (1:20 p.m. Central).
The parade will last about 40 minutes total, starting at Frontier Land and traveling through the park to end on Main Street, USA. Conklin, who has been cheerleading for most of her life, said she is looking forward to performing in the parade.
“I’m excited to be with everyone and meet new people,” Annah Lilly said. She said she is most excited about “cheering in the parade” and “waving at the little kids, because they look up to [us].”
Annah Lilly’s parents and sister, Carolina Rose, are traveling to Orlando with her to stay at the resort and watch her perform.
Families of the participating cheerleaders also receive a park package, which includes lodging and three days of park passes. Jennifer Conklin, Annah Lilly’s mother, has been helping her practice and prepare for the performance.
The parade structure is different from cheerleading competitions and performances that AnnahLilly has cheered in before.“It’s the first time she’s had to learn a routine on her own, by herself, for this long,” Conklin said. “It’s a complicated two-minute routine that she has to learn on her own before she gets there, [away from] the rest of the girls.”
The first time that Annah Lilly practiced the routine with her fellow cheerleaders in the parade was on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The Conklin family are no strangers to the Disney resorts or competitions that are held there.
“Both my girls have competed at Disney World before, and we go to Disney a lot,” Conklin said.
The cheerleaders and their families stay at the same hotel and get to participate in activities like group breakfasts and window decorating. Girls from different states also will be able to meet each other by swapping T-shirts from their state or school.
The UCA website will be livestreaming the Thanksgiving Tour parade on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and Thursday, Nov. 23, on its website, varsity.com/school/camps/special-events/orlando.
