Every year on Thanksgiving Day, numerous families pile in front of the TV and turn on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is a tradition that everyone looks forward to each year, bringing people together. Every Thanksgiving, Macy’s hosts an enormous parade with balloons, floats, performances, and more. This Thanksgiving will be the 98th year of one of NYC’s most festive events.
This infamous, beloved tradition dates back to 1924. To showcase the opening of “The World’s Largest Store” with one million square feet of retail space, the company came up with the idea of a parade. The parade’s aim was to bring attention to the store’s upcoming holiday sales, and the first three parades were actually titled Macy’s Christmas Parade. When the parade first began it spanned six miles and featured Christmas and Mother Goose nursery rhymes-themed floats, Macy’s employees dressed up as different characters, and animals from the Central Park Zoo. The balloons we know and love today were first introduced in 1927, which was also when the name was changed to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The first-ever balloon exhibited was Phoenix the Cat, which reappeared briefly for its 90th anniversary in 2016. Devastatingly, from 1942-1944 the parade was suspended due to a rubber shortage. Families around America were ecstatic when the parade finally resumed in 1945.
This year’s festive parade will be supplying 22 charming balloons, showcasing six new balloons, Disney’s Minnie Mouse, Extraordinary Noorah™ & The Elf on the Shelf, Gabby from “Gabby’s Dollhouse”, Goku from “Dragon Balls”, Marshall from “PAW Patrol”, and Spider-Man. Though the main attraction for many is the towering balloons, they aren’t the only thing displayed during the parade; it also spotlights floats, cheerleaders, marching bands, celebrities, and performers. There will be 19 musical performances, featuring Broadway productions, and artists such as T-Pain, The Temptations, Alex Warren, Coco Jones, Dan + Shay, and numerous more.
The anticipation for the parade is increasing as Thanksgiving creeps closer. Although many choose to watch from the comfort of their home on T.V., there’s also the chance for many to experience it in person with 2.5 miles of public viewing beginning on Central Park South & 6th Avenue and continuing throughout the parade route. Every year over 3.5 million people travel to crowd the streets, while over 50 million people are viewing on T.V. through NBC or Peacock. Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade is a favorite tradition that shapes the atmosphere of the holiday, and this year is sure not to disappoint.
