While the rest of us were knee-deep in a Pennsylvania winter, the hard work and nationally-recognized skill of Liberty's Grenadier Band earned its members a trip to sunny Pasadena, Calif.

There, Bethlehem's students participated in the Tournament of Roses special 125th annual Rose Parade, coinciding with the 100th annual Rose Bowl college football game.

The band was in Pasadena from Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, and participated in three performances, culminating in the Rose Bowl Parade Jan. 1, Band Director Kevin Long said.

Long said Air products helped truck the band's equipment, but the trip was otherwise completely family-funded and cost $2,600 per person. It was all-inclusive.

"A student could get on the bus here at Liberty HS and not have to pay for a thing until getting off the bus at Liberty HS," he said.

Mary Kovalchick, who participated as a clarinetist in the band's first trip to England in 1986, said she is proud to continue a tradition when she sent her son, freshman trumpeter Geoffrey Baser to California. She said the family had been doing fundraising for months to get the cash for her son to travel. Hogies, flowers, pizza, pierogies. "Pretty much everything we could sell, we did sell," she said.

Kovalchick said retired band directors Ron Sherry and Greg McGill also went along to help keep the students in top form, something Long said is necessary at their level.

Between applications, introductory videos, research and endless practice, Long said, earning an invitation to an event such as the Rose Parade, especially during an anniversary year, is an honor and no easy feat.

"This is no small venture. We were definitely up against some of the country's best high school bands. It's not a shoe-in."

But Long said it's completely worthwhile.

"The best part is working with the 250 kids we had there. They make is easy. They make it fun."

Kovalchick said she was pleased her son could participate and that the old and new band directors went as well.

"It's a real legacy," she said.

Liberty's Grenadier Band will not be making a major trip next year.