Nearly 1,400 acts applied to perform in Barack Obama’s inaugural parade next month in Washington, D.C. Only 100 made the cut. Among the winners: the Fergus Falls High School Marching Band. “Everybody’s very excited,” says Denise Wiese, one of the marching band’s four directors. “Very excited.”

The 120-member marching band will head to the nation’s capitol by bus on January 16 and stay for five days. They’ll be joined by 20 adult chaperones and instructors. The students will have to raise the money to pay for their transportation and lodging.

The national stage is nothing new for the Fergus Falls band. In 2006 it won first place in the International Lions Parade in Boston, and in 1998 it took second place at the National Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington.  ”We’re a very traditional style marching band,” says Wiese. “Very old school. In a lot of national competitions that’s what they look for.”

The band’s motto: “Share the pride.”