Because of community and fan support, every Pella Marching Dutch student who wanted to travel to the Rose Parade experience this week is getting to do so.

Dave Van Gorp helped lead a committee of parents that worked with the Pella Athletic Booster club to fundraise, and through those efforts, nearly half of the cost of the trip was paid for through donations.

Van Gorp himself was on the 1988 group that went, and he has a son going this year, and he says it’s been fun to connect the generations of Marching Dutch together through the special experience.

Tune into Let’s Talk Pella daily through the end of next week for more from the Marching Dutch ahead, during, and after their Rose Parade trip, and stay tuned to 92.1 KRLS for updates from Pasadena.