When Pike County residents tune in to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade next Thursday, they might catch a glimpse of three local girls who are making their way to the Big Apple this weekend.

Avery Carpenter, Anna May, Eden Mobley, Claire Powell, Callie Sanders and Emma Strickland are accomplished dancers with SheBANG!! Championship Clog Dance Company and are traveling to New York City on Saturday for a week of rehearsals for the annual parade to be televised on NBC Thanksgiving morning.

“One of the most important things I can do for my dancers is to provide them experiences and memories that they will cherish even as they grow up and graduate from high school,” said Tricia Ratcliffe, director of SheBANG!! “The MACY’s experience is one of the best experiences I have ever had, and I can’t wait to share it with this group of girls. I know when they grow up and have children of their own that they will watch the parade on Thanksgiving morning and always remember performing in it, and that is something that I am so, so proud to be able to do.”

This will be the dance company’s second trip to dance their way through Harold’s Square in the parade.

While the week will be full of rehearsals, it won’t be all business for the SheBANG!! dancers. The young women will attend a Broadway show, see the world famous Rockettes dance and visit the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Central Park.

“Every time I do one of these trips I have a child with me who has never flown or never really had the chance to travel far away from home, and I love that SheBANG!! is able to give them that chance.

“These girls have won a lot of trophies over the their many years at SheBANG!!, but experience is something completely different and I am really proud to be able to provide that too.”

The SheBang!! dancers traveling to New York have been saving their money all year to go, however, the trip wouldn’t be possible without generous donations from area businesses and residents who helped sponsor the experience, Ratcliffe said.