Shutdown bars West Point band from Columbus Day parade

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The impact of the federal government shutdown will be noticed at Monday's 69th annual Columbus Day parade in New York City.

The West Point Marching Band was scheduled to lead the parade.

But the group has been barred from marching due to the ongoing shutdown, now entering its third week.

"The cancellation of the West Point Marching Band in the Columbus Day Parade, which we learned about officially only on Friday, October 11, three days before the parade, was every bit as regrettable for the Band as it was for us," said Frank Fusaro, President of the Columbus Citizens Foundation. "It is very regrettable that for reasons unrelated to their professionalism and commitment to our country that they are unable to perform on Fifth Avenue this Columbus Day."

Leading the Parade instead will be the Ohio Northern University Marching Band, known also as the Star of Northwest Ohio.

The band's appearance was to be underwritten entirely by the Columbus Citizens Foundation, which months prior to the government shutdown had agreed to pay for all costs, including transportation, tolls, and meals.

The West Point Marching Band is part of the U.S. Military Academy Band.

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