New York saw 30 members of the Cyclone Marching Band fly out for a special televised surprise birthday party for Sara Haines, a host for “The View.”

Haines, an Iowa native, born in Newton, turned 45 Sept. 18, following the Sept. 16 surprise party.

According to Evan Hartman, a snare drummer and a senior studying mechanical engineering, the band flew into New York on Wednesday night and spent almost the entire day Thursday for sightseeing before they met up in the afternoon to rehearse for the show.

“We had to walk without our instruments to the rehearsal as it was only a couple blocks,” Hartman said. “We felt like mini celebrities because of the amount of people that went up to us and asked where we were playing and/or took pictures of us.”

As a token of appreciation for the Iowa State Marching Band, “The View” got all the band members tickets to see “Beetlejuice” on Broadway that night. The next morning, the band waited in the studio audience room for “The View” before they were released to surprise Haines on the show. Co-host Joy Behar initially asked Haines if she had any plans for her birthday, to which Haines replied that she would be going to a wedding that weekend.

“I’m sure that you’d rather be home going to the State Fair in Iowa,” Behar replied during the broadcast. “…But since you can’t be there, we thought we’d bring a little bit of Iowa to you.”

The Iowa State Marching Band was then released from their waiting area playing ISU Fights in their full marching attire.

“I don’t know what I was expecting behind the scenes of a live tv show, but it was kind of a surreal experience,” said Logan TeKolste, a drum major for the band and a senior studying instrumental music education. “Everything was so efficient and moved so fast.”

The stage was instantaneously transformed into a mini-state fair, complete with State Fair favorites like corn dogs, funnel cakes, corn on the cob and a new state fair product, the “OMG” chicken sandwich, which is a fried chicken breast topped with bacon, drizzled with maple syrup and served in between a glazed doughnut.

“It was an amazing experience, and I’m super grateful to have been able to be a part of representing Iowa State,” said Kyler Fischer, a junior tenor saxophone player studying mechanical engineering. “Being on the show was incredible, and it was so much different than I imagined.”

Haines watched in awe and even laughed with excitement as the stage was transformed, the band rushed out and the food was served.

“Surprising Sara was super cool because she had no idea, and even though some cast knew we would be there, they were even surprised at just how loud we were and the amount of energy we brought,” Fischer said. “I remember running in, and all I saw was Sara with her mouth open in awe.”

To top off the celebration, the Mayor of Newton, Michael L. Hansen, declared Sept. 18 as Sara Haines Day. When the cameras stopped rolling, Haines talked to the band members and said she actually played flute in her high school marching band. The band then took a photo with Haines and the other hosts, with Haines wearing an “Iowans Do it Butter” shirt in a cardinal and gold color pattern.

“I think my favorite moment of the whole trip, though, was after we got done with the show and we were getting out of our uniforms, one of our staff members showed me a video of a bunch of people having a watch party in the lobby of Music Hall,” TeKolste said. “I could not stop smiling after that. It made the stress of the trip being thrown together in less than 36 hours and missing so many classes incredibly worth it.”