It's a holiday tradition.

Millions of people tune in every year for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Next week, Kentucky will be well-represented.

And the all star celebration with larger than life balloon characters, clown crews, floats and musical performances.

Four of the 400 band directors who will march are from the Commonwealth.

Our Laura Rogers introduces us to one of them.

Campbellsville University assistant band director Ed Johnson was raised with a lot of music.

I grew up with music in my house, with my mom singing hymns.

Johnson's introduction to performing in a band began with a music educator.

My band director gave me an instrument in seventh grade and said, Here.

That was the beginning of an education that would lead to a 35 year career as a band director at the high school.

And now college level, where he now inspires the next generation of music educators.

Here, the big influence I want to give the students that have the interest in music and the arts and other things like that.

I want to give them the opportunities that I was given.

It's something you can take with you.

Music never dies.

It's always with you.

No matter where you go.

There's music playing.

And soon his musical talent will take him to New York City.

I grew up watching the Macy's parade.

Very few have I missed.

We still watch it every Thanksgiving morning at my mom's house.

But this year, Johnson won't be watching.

He'll be performing.

And the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with the band director is marching band following their performance in last year's iconic Rose Parade.

The Pasadena parade was just unreal.

I am one of the band directors that has always loved a parade.

I've always enjoyed doing parades with my group at Heart County and with the group here at the university.

It's a different excitement.

It's a different energy.

He's been preparing and rehearsing since this summer.

Five pages of music that must all be memorized.

With a special walking regimen around campus.

We will meet for the first time at 7 p.m. on Sunday night in Times Square for our first rehearsal, and then we will rehearse in the mornings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

And then we're off in the parade on Thursday.

I think it's a really cool opportunity and for them, just like someone that's so close to me and so close to the people around me is really, really special.

What makes it even more special?

The performances one at Herald Square, the other at the 911 Memorial.

We are doing a wreath laying ceremony at Ground Zero for the first responders, and we are the first band to ever perform on that memorial site.

My daughter Cynthia is going to be holding the Kentucky flag during that ceremony, and it'll be the first time all 50 states flags will be flown at Ground zero.

So it'll be a very solemn service.

But it's something very dear, very, very important to me.

For Kentucky Edition.

It's just a chance of a lifetime.

I'm Laura Rogers.

So I couldn't turn it down.

Had to do it.

Chance of a lifetime, indeed.

Thank you, Laura Rogers.

There are three other Kentucky band directors marching in the historic parade from Pulaski County.

Murray and Paducah.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is next Thursday morning, November 23rd, starting at eight 3730 Central.