Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was viewed by about 50 million people at home and over three million people in New York City. The 89th annual parade impressed many with its new floats, performers and balloons.
Macy’s first day parade took place on Christmas in 1924. For the first three years, a large character balloon never made an appearance. Felix the Cat was the first large character balloon, and over 100 balloons have been featured in the parade ever since. Not only has the day of the parade changed, but new safety precautions and other additions have been added to the parade as well.
Marching bands, performers, floats, giant balloons, and popular television and movie stars participated in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade had 3.5 million people line the streets of midtown Manhattan to watch 8000 participants. The parade featured 17 giant character balloons, 24 novelty balloons, at least a thousand cheerleaders and dancers, over 1000 clowns, 12 marching bands, and 27 floats.
A copious amount of musical groups, solo singers, and other performers participated in the parade. Mariah Carey, Panic! At The Disco, and Trey Songz were just some of the performers at this parade. Justin Bieber headlined the event, and Miss America Betty Cantrell made an appearance. Cirque du Soleil appeared on the ‘Dreamseeker’ float, which had dancers, contortionists, trampoline, and juggling. Country music had two representatives this year at the parade. Jake Owen and Jennifer Nettles performed during the Nbc telecast. Nettles is known for her role in the music group, Sugarland, and Owen is a well-known solo singer.
“I really liked the Thanksgiving parade this year, and I can’t wait to go possibly next year,” NHS freshman Linda Bomova said, when asked about the event. “My favorite float was the Snoopy one,” Bomova also said.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade had new performances, floats, and balloons. Angry Birds’ Red and Ice Age’s Scrat and his acorn were two new giant balloons. The Cranberry Cooperative by Ocean Spray and Discover Adventure! by Build-A-Bear were two of the many new floats this year. For the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown’s Christmas, the float, Snoop’s Doghouse by Peanuts Worldwide made a first-time appearance as well.
There were festive balloons and floats, such as the Tom Turkey float, which led the parade and the Two Gigantic Pumpkins. The large Red Candy Cane novelty balloon opened the holiday season, as well as the Elf on the Shelf. Santa’s Sleigh featured Santa’s giant bag of toys, the famous reindeer pulling the sleigh, and the famed Toyshop. A 3D calendar, depicting holiday scenes behind each date was constructed on the three-story Heartwarming Holiday Countdown float by Hallmark. The Santaland Express and the Winter Wonderland in Central Park float were the two other holiday-themed floats.
While most attended the parade to get a glimpse of the floats, balloons, and performers, a large amount of clowns also entertained the crowd. There were a variety of types of clowns such as the Birthday Party Clowns and the Sleepy Clowns. Before the parade, over 200 first-time clowns attended Big Apple Circus which held a clown training class to prepare the clowns performing.
“The clown group is really the heart and soul of the Macy's Parade,” Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Executive Producer Amy Kule said to CBS New York. “They get to break rank. They get to go talk directly one-on-one with the kids that are watching with their parents, and they can bring the parade directly, singularly to those who are watching.”
Macy’s 89th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade was enjoyed by many, and people are now wondering what new floats, balloons, and performers will participate in the parade next year.