January 19, 2021
In the World

Inaugural Role

Wittenberg Athletics Facilities Support Local High School Band’s Performance in Parade Across America

President-Elect Joe Biden’s Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) has announced that the Kenton Ridge Marching Cougar Band from the Northeastern Local School District in Clark County will be representing the state in the virtual Parade Across America, Jan. 20. Featuring diverse and dynamic performances in communities in all 56 states and territories celebrating America’s heroes, and highlighting the diversity, heritage, and resilience of the country, the parade is one component of Biden’s inauguration festivities.

The Marching Cougar Band recorded their performance for the virtual parade on Wednesday, Jan. 13, in the Steemer, Wittenberg’s new state-of-the-art centerpiece in the University’s fully renovated and expanded Health, Wellness, and Athletics (HWA) Complex.

“This unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Kenton Ridge Marching Cougar Band highlights the type of community connections and involvement that Wittenberg University envisioned with the HWA project,” said Wittenberg Senior Associate Athletic Director Bret Billhardt. “While the Steemer is usually a facility where Wittenberg student-athletes hone their skills for their next big athletic contest, it was great to be able to host an event of this magnitude for a community partner and will be great to see the Steemer displayed front and center for the entire country to see during Wednesday’s Presidential Inauguration Parade Across America virtual celebration.”

According to a PIC press release, the Parade Across America is scheduled to take place at 3:15 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Jan. 20, and will be hosted by actor, producer, and director Tony Goldwyn. The event will also feature other well-known performers and athletes including Jon Stewart, New Radicals, DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic, Earth, Wind & Fire, Nile Rodgers, Kathy Sledge, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, the Washington Chorus, the Triumph Baptist Church Choir, Andra Day, Kaitlyn Saunders, Nathan Chen, Allyson Felix, Katie Ledecky, and Nathan Apodaca, also known as DoggFace. The United States Coast Guard Band, the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, a Dance Across America performance, a wheelchair basketball program from the Ryan Martin Foundation, and numerous other guests will join in during the broadcast.

Tune into the event via a livestream at https://BidenInaugural.org/watch or on the PIC’s social media platforms, including YouTubeFacebookTwitter, and Twitch. The PIC’s streaming partners, including Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNOW from Fox, and AT&T U-verse (Channel 212/1212 in SD/HD) and DIRECTV (Channel 201), will also carry the program live.

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About Wittenberg

Wittenberg's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, Wittenberg has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, Wittenberg offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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