The 146 members of the Marching Cougar Band wouldn’t arrive in New York for a dozen more hours.

But Monday evening as they got ready to board buses that would deliver them to march in the 86th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, they could have mistaken the high school grounds for Grand Central Station.

Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, dogs and well-wishers formed a chaotic throng in the chilly temperatures as seven buses idled in front of the school.

Three would be filled with band supporters.

“I was beside myself today,” said Sandy Ehrman, mother of tuba player Spencer Ehrman, as she got ready to board Bus 5. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Sophomore trumpeter Carlie Casto, 15, had more than a stuffed animal in tow. Sister Birgette, 18, a former band member; mother Julie; and grandmother Pat Fishbaugh were on the trip, too.

Joe Kitchen was there to see off his daughter, student director Erin Kitchen, his wife, Danessa, and his mother-in-law, Billie Finnegan.

Kitchen was staying home to spend Thanksgiving with their son, Connor, a KR grad who now plays trumpet in the Ohio State University Band.

Said Kitchen, “This all goes back to Mr. Templeton,” band director Jim Templeton.

Residents of Forest Glen, a nearby care center, also were on hand.

“They’re all excited about watching the kids” on television, said Jaime Errett, the facility’s resident activity director.

Residents worked with students from the school’s Leo Club to make turkey-shaped cards and assemble goody bags for band members to enjoy on their buses.

“They’re thankful for us,” club adviser Sherri Bennett said of the residents, “and we’re thankful for them.”

Marching before 3.5 million spectators and a television audience of 50 million is “a huge honor,” said Templeton, director since 1999.

“We have a rotation of three songs and five cadences we play along the parade route” of 2.65 miles, he said. “And for the NBC spot on the star in front of Macy’s we were allotted a minute and 15 seconds.”

“The most stressful thing was getting that minute and 15 seconds ready,” he added.

To master its routine to “Alexander’s Rag Time Band,” the band had a star painted on the school parking lot, along with and lines showing the area in which they must play.

The band will practice the routine a final time at 2:15 a.m. Thanksgiving Day on the star in front of Macy’s itself.

Just six high school bands will march in the parade, which will include as many college and military bands, along with drill teams, floats and the usual contingent of oversize balloons.

Each band member raised $1,251 to make the trip, which will include Broadway shows, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Marriott Marquis overlooking Times Square.

Not only did the community contribute $35,000 for a new set of brass sousaphones, Templeton said, “we initially priced the trip to take one fan bus, and we ended up overflowing to three.”

All of which means that after their done marching Thursday, the Kenton Ridge Band will have something to be thankful for: their supportive community.