Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by Macy's Department store. The three-hour event is held in New York City starting at 9:00 a.m. EST on Thanksgiving.

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In the 1920s many of Macy's department store employees were first-generation immigrants. Proud of their new American heritage, they wanted to celebrate the United States holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festival their parents had loved in Europe.

In 1924, the annual Thanksgiving parade started by Louis Bamberger in Newark, New Jersey at the Bamberger's store was transferred to New York by Macy's. In New York, the employees marched to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, as has been the case with every parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first parade, however, the Jolly Old Elf was enthroned on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then "crowned" "King of the Kiddies." With an audience of over a quarter of a million people, the parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.

Large animal-shaped balloons replaced the live animals in 1927 when the Felix the Cat balloon made its debut. Felix was filled with air, but by the next year, helium was used to fill the expanding cast of balloons.

As the finale of the 1928 parade, the balloons were released into the sky where they unexpectedly burst. The following year they were redesigned with safety valves to allow them to float for a few days.[1] Address labels were sewn into them, so that whomever found and mailed back the discarded balloon received a gift from Macy's [2]

Through the 1930s, the Parade continued to grow, with crowds of over 1 million lining the parade route in 1933. The first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the parade in 1934. The annual festivities were broadcast on local New York radio through 1941.

The parade was suspended for the duration of World War II, owing to the need for rubber and helium in the war effort. The parade resumed in 1945 using the route that it currently follows (see below). The parade became a permanent part of American culture after being prominently featured in the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street, which shows actual footage of the 1946 festivities. The event was first telecast nationally in 1952 (see below). On the NBC telecast from in front of the flagship Macy's store on Broadway and 34th Sreet,the marching bands perform live music but most of the other live acts such as songs from Broadway musicals use pre-recorded music with the performers lip-syncing thier singing.

Other cities in the US also have parades on Thanksgiving, but they are not run by Macy's. The nation's oldest Thanksgiving parade (the Gimbels parade, now known as 6abc/Boscov's) was first held in Philadelphia in 1920. Other cities include: Chicago, Illinois; Plymouth, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; and Fountain Hills, Arizona. Since 1994, a "rival" balloon parade of sorts in the New York Metropolitan Area has been run in Stamford, Connecticut. It is run on the Sunday before Thanksgiving to not directly compete with the Macy's parade and the balloon characters are not duplicated between the 2 parades. In recent years it has received up to 200,000 spectators and has become the 2nd biggest such parade in the U.S., surpassing in crowd even the parades held on Thanksgiving Day itself (except for Macy's).[citation needed]

New safety measures were incorporated in 2006 to prevent accidents and balloon related injuries. One measure taken was installation of wind measurement devices to alert parade organizers to any unsafe conditions that could cause the balloons to behave erratically. Also, parade officials implemented a measure to keep the balloons closer to the ground during windy conditions.

Members of the Stevens Institute of Technology training for the parade in Giants Stadium parking lot.
Members of the Stevens Institute of Technology training for the parade in Giants Stadium parking lot.

The balloons for the parade are inflated the day before (Wednesday) on both sides of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The balloons are split between 77th and 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The inflation team consists of various volunteers from Macy's as well as students from Stevens Institute of Technology, a local university in Hoboken, NJ where the balloons and floats are designed and built. The inflation is open to the public the afternoon and night before the parade.

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The largest balloon to be in the parade was Superman.
  • The first female character balloon in the parade was Olive Oyl in 1982.
  • The Eddie Cantor balloon is the only balloon to be modeled after a living person.
  • The Clifford the Big Red Dog balloon is the only one said to be life-sized.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (character) was the first video game character to have a balloon modeled after it, with its debut in 1993's parade.
  • Little Bill was the first African American character to have a balloon based after him.
  • Dora The Explorer was the first Latino character to have a balloon based after her.
  • Snoopy is the character with the most balloons made after him, having 6 balloons
  • The first balloon in the first Macy's day parade was Felix the Cat.

  • 2007: Artie The Pirate, Macy's Parade Balloon Cluster, Valkyrie Movie Balloon
  • 2006: Green Candy Cane, Handprint Stars, Ice Cream Cone
  • 2005: Wiggle Worm, Candy Canes, Snow Crystals, Poinsettias
  • 2004: Uncle Sam

A falloon ("F"; a portmanteau of "float" and "balloon") is a float-based balloon. A balloonicle ("B"; a portmanteau of "balloon" and "vehicle") is a self-powered balloon vehicle.

  • 2007: The Care Bears Winter Fun-Derland, International Cele-Bear-Ation Clock Tower, M&M's Chocolate Candies on Broadway, Music Bigger than Life, Barbie as The Island Princess
  • 2006: Barbie & the 12 Dancing Princesses, Doodlebug, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Mother Goose, Space Station Discovery,
  • 2005: Holiday Beat, Krazy Kritters , The Magic of Childhood, 123 Sesame Street, Barbie as the Princess & The Pauper, NFL Classic, Tutenstein, and Voyage to Adventure
  • 2002: Barney's Playtime in The Park
  • 1998: Sesame Street
  • 1987: Marvel Comics
  • 1984: Fraggle Rock
  • 1971: Tom Turkey

In addition to the well-known balloons and floats, the parade also features live music and other performances. College and high school marching bands from across the country participate in the parade, and the television broadcasts feature performances by famous singers and bands. The Radio City Rockettes are a classic performance as well.

Performers in 2007 include: Ashley Tisdale, Bindi Irwin and her mother, Terri Irwin, Corbin Bleu, Dolly Parton, Good Charlotte, Jonas Brothers, Lifehouse, Ne-Yo, Sarah Brightman, Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, Wynonna Judd, and Jordin Sparks.

Every year, a number of Broadway shows perform in the parade. The 2007 parade was notable as it took place during a stage hand's strike, and as such, several shows had to perform in street clothes.

More than 44 million people watch the parade on television each year. NBC has been the official broadcaster of the event since 1955, however, starting 2007, CBS broadcasted it along with NBC. CBS is the unofficial broadcaster for the parade. For many years now the parade, which began its television appearances on CBS in 1952, has been hosted mostly by members of The Today Show. However, from 1962 to 1971 it was hosted by Lorne Greene (who was then appearing in NBC's Bonanza), and Betty White. Today Show's Bryant Gumbel, Ed McMahon and Regis Philbin hosted the telecast into the early 1980s.

1979 parade
1979 parade

Between 1987 and 1997, the NBC telecast coverage was hosted by the Today Show's Bryant Gumbel and Willard Scott. During that period, their co-hosts were Mary Hart, Sandy Duncan, Deborah Norville, and Katie Couric; In 1995, Al Roker joined the live parade coverage. Matt Lauer picked up hosting duties in 1998 when Willard Scott left. In 2006, the hosting team consisted of Meredith Vieira, Matt Lauer and Al Roker; effectively, this is the cast of The Today Show since the parade's first hour (and, as of 2007, the second hour as well) falls within that show's regular time slot. The parade was announced by Don Pardo, until 1999 when Joel Goddard took over. From the early 80s until circa 1994, the show was produced and directed by Dick Schneider; since circa 1994, the telecast has been executive produced by Brad Lachman, produced by Bill Bracken and directed by Gary Halvorson.

Since 2003, parade coverage has been simulcast in Spanish language on NBC-owned Telemundo. Parade coverage has won nine Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Special Event Coverage since 1979.

As the Macy's parade, like most parades, occurs on public streets, NBC's coverage is not exclusive. For several years, CBS also televised portions of the parade as part of its wraparound "All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade" coverage, which includes footage from Thanksgiving parades around the country. Since then, however, the wraparound coverage has been dropped completely. The Macy's Parade continues to be covered on CBS (albeit as unlicensed and unofficial coverage without the use of the Macy's name) and is currently marketed under the title "The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS."

Houston, Texas and Detroit, Michigan are the largest television markets to have the parade pre-empted for locally based parades. Houston's CBS affiliate, KHOU-TV, does the annual march through downtown Houston, and WDIV-TV in Detroit pre-empts NBC coverage for that city's "America's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Because the coverage is carried by two networks, viewers in those cities can watch the Macy's parade on the other network's station, and thus the parade is not entirely pre-empted in those markets.

The Parade has always taken place on Manhattan Island, one of the 'Five Bouroughs' that make up New York City. Originally the parade started from 145th Street in Harlem and ended at Herald Square, a 6 1/2 mile route. (In Manhattan the higher street numbers are north)

The Parade adopted its current route in 1945 when NBC began televising the parade. Beginning at the intersection of 77th Street and Central Park West, the route heads south along Central Park. At Columbus Circle, the route turns onto Broadway, passes through Times Square, and continues southward to Macy's, turning west onto 34th Street, and continuing to 7th Avenue, where the floats are taken down. It is not advised to view the parade from Columbus Circle, as due to higher winds in this flat area, balloon teams race through it.

The shortened Parade route offered at least one convenience: it eliminated the need for the large balloons to be carried under the elevated subway lines. Today, New York City officials preview the parade route and try to eliminate as many potential obstacles as possible, even going as far as rotating overhead traffic signals out of the way.

An interesting experience is attending the parade rehearsal which begins around midnight, though without balloons.

Since 2002, Macy's Studios has partnered with Universal Studios Orlando to bring the Macy's balloons and floats from New York to the theme park in Florida every holiday season. The parade is performed daily and includes the iconic Santa Claus float. Performers from the Orlando area are cast as various clowns, and the park invites guests to be "balloon handlers" for the parade. [3]

  • In 1993, The Sonic the Hedgehog balloon crashed into a lamppost at Columbus Circle and injured an off-duty police officer.[1]
  • In 1997, high winds pushed the Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost.[2] The falling debris struck a parade-goer, fracturing her skull and leaving her in a coma for a month. Size rules were implemented the next year, eliminating larger balloons like the Cat in the Hat.[3]
  • In 1997 the wind was so strong, the Barney balloon was cut, and had to be out from the rest of the parade.[citation needed]
  • In 2005, the M&M's chocolate candies balloon caught on a streetlight in Times Square. Two sisters were struck by falling debris, suffering minor injuries. As a result, new safety rules were introduced.[4] Those rules came in handy for the 2006 parade, as balloons were lowered because of rain and high winds. The M&M's balloon was retired after 2006, and replaced by a float saluting Broadway theatre and musicals.
  • In 2006, the low-flying Spongebob balloon caught on a lampost in Herald Square, but no injuries were reported. Spectators chanted "Free Spongebob!", cheering once a police officer and a concerned father released him.[citation needed]

In 2006, parade organizers decided to use fewer balloons in response to a worldwide shortage of helium. Organizers, in fact, talked of not using any balloons at all, but decided to compromise due to public demand.[5]

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons and other images

M&M's balloon in 2006 parade

Super Grover in 2006 parade

Ronald McDonald in 2006 parade

Mr. Potato Head in 2006 parade

Spongebob in 2006 parade
Scoobydoo.jpg

Scooby Doo in 2006 parade

SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the Energizer Bunny and Pikachu with Poké Ball is shown tied down before the 2006 parade.

Shrek in 2007.

Hello Kitty in 2007.

Since 2001, a Pikachu balloon has been flown in the parade, demonstrating the popularity of Pokémon. This balloon was used from 2001 until 2005, and a new standing Pikachu debuted in 2006.

  1. ^ "Site of Balloon Accident Is Known for Its Crosswinds", New York Times, 2005-11-27. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  2. ^ "Macy's Parade of Balloons Gets One Thing It Doesn't Need: Wind", New York Times, 1997-11-28. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  3. ^ "Macy's presents safer parade", CNN, 1998-11-26. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. 
  4. ^ "New safety rules for NYC Thanksgiving parade after balloon crash", Associated Press. Retrieved on 2006-10-18. 
  5. ^ NBC telecast coverage, 11/23/06

  • Grippo, Robert M., Christopher Hoskins, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Arcadia Publishing 2004

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Thanksgiving (U.S.) Pilgrims • Native American • Squanto • Wampanoag • Plymouth • National Thanksgiving Proclamation • National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
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Traditions Thanksgiving dinner • Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade • 6abc Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Songs Over the River and through the Woods • We Gather Together • Alice's Restaurant
Society Black Friday (shopping) • Cyber Monday • List of related harvest festivals
Thanksgiving Sports Events: Turkey Day Game • Thanksgiving Classic • Turkey Bowl • Turkey Trot • Bounty Bowl
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