Homewood Middle Cheerleaders to March in Disney Thanksgiving Parade

Overview

Two eighth grade cheerleaders from Homewood Middle School, Kate Parsons and Annah Lilly Conklin, will be performing in the Orlando Thanksgiving Tour parade organized by the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The parade will take place from November 21-24, 2023, and it will feature cheerleaders from 25 states, split into two teams: Team Minnie and Team Mickey. Cheerleaders from Alabama, including Kate and Annah Lilly, have been assigned to Team Mickey, and they will perform on Wednesday, November 22, at 2:20 p.m. Eastern (1:20 p.m. Central).

The parade will last approximately 40 minutes, starting at Frontier Land and ending on Main Street, USA. This is the first time that Homewood Middle School will be represented in the Thanksgiving Tour, and the families of the participating cheerleaders will receive a park package, which includes lodging and three days of park passes.

Annah Lilly, who has been cheerleading for most of her life, is excited about the opportunity to perform in the parade and meet new people. Her family, including her parents and sister, Carolina Rose, will be traveling to Orlando to watch her perform. Jessica 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 Annah Lilly has cheered in before. It is the first time that she has had to learn a routine on her own, by herself, for this long. The routine is 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, November 21.

The cheerleaders and their families will be staying at the same hotel and participating in various activities, such as group breakfasts and window decorating. Girls from different states will also 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, November 22, and Thursday, November 23, on its website, varsity.com/school/camps/special-events/orlando.