Winter jackets? Check.

Cameras? Check.

Trombones? Check.

Members of the Hialeah Middle School symphonic and jazz bands are gearing up for a trip they'll never forget: Next week, they'll travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in a student music festival.

As part of the trip, the 35 teens will be on the National Mall during next week's historic inauguration of Barack Obama.

''It's so exciting,'' said Yesenia Zamora, 14, an eighth-grader who plays the flute and bass guitar. ``We'll be able to tell our grandkids that we were there.''

The Hialeah teens aren't the only South Florida students who will be at the nation's capital for the swearing-in of Obama. Members of the J.P. Taravella High School Marching Band from Coral Springs will play in the inauguration parade.

A group of students from Coral Springs Middle will also travel to Washington, D.C., as will small groups from the Young Women's Preparatory Academy, Miami Senior High and the School for Advanced Studies.

Additionally, a group of students from John A. Ferguson Senior High School will make the trip. Teacher David Marshall said he got inauguration tickets for his students through Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.

When the Hialeah students board the bus Friday, it will be the culmination of months spent fundraising and rehearsing.

''None of these kids have ever been to D.C. before,'' said their principal, Lourdes Diaz. ``Nobody has winter clothes. The things that they'll do and see, they may never see again.''

Band director Berman Lopez first found out about the Heritage Music Festival, which has no official connection to the inauguration, last year. He submitted an application and a performance CD.

''It looked like a great opportunity,'' Lopez recalled. ``We've gone to Orlando for music festivals, but never anything like this.''

In April, the good news came: Both the symphonic and jazz bands were accepted to participate.

The students were ecstatic.

Still, a major challenge loomed: The band's booster club would have to raise more than $8,000 to pay for the bus. And each student would need to chip in an additional $400.

The school sponsored several of the children who needed financial assistance. At Hialeah Middle, more than three-quarters of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of poverty.

Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina helped out, too, as did a handful of local business leaders.

The students themselves raised money by selling candy and gift items from catalogs. They volunteered their time selling pizza and soda at dances and concerts held to raise money for their trip.

The band is still about $3,000 short, Lopez said. They are hoping to raise the money before the end of the week.

In the days leading up to the trip, the students have been hard at work.

Many have invested hours of their time into practicing. Some come to school early and stay late to rehearse. A handful even take the instruments home to play over the weekend.

''I don't think I've ever practiced this hard in my life,'' said Daniel Senti, 13, who plays the bass clarinet and the alto saxophone.

The students have also had special classes to learn about Washington and the inauguration.

When the teens arrive on Friday, they'll join students from across the country at the music festival. More than 4,000 are expected to participate, said Kyle Naylor, vice president of Heritage Festivals.

The Hialeah Middle School bands will compete on Sunday.

Three judges will critique their performance.

The trip will have a social studies component, too. The students are planning on visiting as many monuments as possible, as well as the Smithsonian and Holocaust museums. A Hialeah Middle social studies teacher will be on hand to tie the trip into the kids' studies.

The marquee event, of course, is the presidential inauguration. And at the trip's end, the students will come together for their own version of the inaugural ball.

''We've been getting ready for so long. I can't believe we're actually going,'' said Yesenia, the young flautist. ``It's going to be amazing.''

Donations can be made by calling the Bronco Band Patrons at 786-488-5682.

Miami Herald staff writers Hannah Sampson and Lesley Clark contributed to this report.

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