By Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer contributor

GREEN TWP. - Alissa Wood never misses watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television.

Until this year.

The Oak Hills High School junior will have her mom tape the parade, because Alissa, 16, will be in it.

Alissa is one of about 30 Oak Hills High School Varsity Singers who will join America Sings to open the 77th annual parade.

Once their song is finished, the 883 singers will rush from Herald Square to the start of the parade, in which they'll follow Santa's Sleigh.

The Oak Hills choir is one of three Greater Cincinnati groups in this year's 2.5-mile parade, which airs 9 a.m.-noon Nov. 27 on NBC (Channels 5, 22). Miami University's marching band and the Kings Firecrackers jump-rope team, made up of Kings Local Schools elementary students, were also selected.

"It's something I'll tell my grandkids about,'' said Alissa, of Delhi Township.

This week the group heard the original composition - "Big City Swing'' - they will be singing. The next step is to learn the choreography.

E-mail suek@infionline.net