Thanksgiving Day is known for food, football, and parades. This year, senior Olivia Kamaras participated in the country’s oldest Thanksgiving Day parade, Philadelphia’s annual 6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade, as a dancer. Held on Thanksgiving Day November 23, Kamaras danced her way down the Ben Franklin Parkway.

In order to participate in the parade, Kamaras said she was asked to audition to become an All-American cheerleader, which would also secure her a spot in the Thanksgiving parade.  

“So for Cinnaminson Cheer we go to UCLA cheer camp in June,” Kamaras said. “You have to audition to become an all-American cheerleader. Me and a couple other people tried out and then I got the reward, which is a card and you can decide where to go – to London or Hawaii, Orlando, or the Philly Parade, so I chose the Philly one because it was the closest one.” 

According to Kamaras, she had an eventful early-morning schedule on Thanksgiving Day, including final preparations and getting ready for the parade. She said she and her family stayed in a hotel close to the parade route in order to make the day easier.

“So I woke up at 3:30 [a.m.] to get ready. I had to go to hair, makeup, and [get] my uniform. Then we went downstairs to have breakfast at like 4:30-5:00 [a.m.],” Kamaras said. “We got on the buses at 5:15, and then we parked by the Art Museum. From the Art Museum, we walked to the top of the parade, then we just walked the parade route.”

Kamaras, along with 200 other dancers, performed to The Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” in addition to a medley of Christmas songs. 

“There was a truck with speakers on it. All 200 of us were walking in rows, then it would play the music [and] then we would dance to it,” Kamaras said. “We would go from there, and then there was a finale performance that we performed on the Art Museum steps that was a chunk of remixed Christmas songs. There were four [other] dance companies dancing as well.” 

Even though the Thanksgiving parade was a memorable experience for Kamaras, she admits the exhaustion she felt for the rest of the day. She said she slept through Thanksgiving dinner. 

“We got home at like 1-1:30 [p.m.] and I just slept because I’m not a morning person.”