South Shore Drill Team to Perform at Inauguration

South Side team to march in Inaugural Parade

President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities will have a distinct Chicago flair.

The South Shore Drill Team learned this week it was selected to march in the Inauguration Parade on January 21.

The group was selected from more than 2,800 applicants for the honor.

The team is in the process of trying to raise $45,000 to cover the cost of the trip.

Up to 300 members aged 8-21 participate on the drill team each year, although only the senior members will go on this trip.

The group appears in roughly 125 events annually in multiple states.

The drill team was founded in 1980 and appeared in the Chicago-filmed movie "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off."

Inaugural parades are a time-honored tradition following the president's swearing in, beginning with the local militias that accompanied George Washington from his Virginia home to New York, where his inauguration was held in 1789.

Thomas Jefferson charted the modern day route in 1805 when he rode a horse to the White House after being sworn in for his second term, followed by a spontaneous procession of local workers and a Marine Band.

President Dwight Eisenhower had the longest parade in 1953, lasting about five hours, compared with about two hours for more recent events.

President Jimmy Carter walked along Pennsylvania Avenue during his parade, which has since become traditional practice for the presidents as they begin their new terms.

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