No more spooks and scares, people… that’s so last month, anyway. November is here! Most of the month may just be pretty regular stuff, but at the end comes Thanksgiving. And with Thanksgiving comes parades to celebrate the holiday season. From Chicago, to Detroit, to Philly, and all the other places in-between, there are many parades to be found. But the biggest and most popular, is in the heart of NYC, it is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The first one of these parades was held by Macy’s in 1924. At the time, it was known as Macy’s Christmas Parade. The floats and marching bands were there and Santa was still at the end, but there were animals from the Central Park Zoo instead of the giant balloons. It would take quite a bit of time for the high flying balloons, Broadway show performances, and celebrities to make it to the parade. The only time the parade would be stopped was during World War II, due to rubber and helium being needed for the war. The parade would be featured in the movie Miracle on 34th Street in 1947, and NBC would start to televise the parade in 1953, bringing it to Americans worldwide as a Thanksgiving tradition.
Let’s talk about the balloons now. They were first introduced in 1927, produced by Goodyear (the tire company) and inflated with helium. The balloons used to be released at the end of the parade, but it stopped in 1932 after a plane nearly crashed due to one of them. They would evolve over the years into more recognizable characters, starting with characters like Mickey Mouse in 1934. Other memorable balloon characters are SpongeBob, Pikachu, Kermit the Frog, Spider-Man, and Snoopy (the balloon that has flown most times).
Wind has caused the balloons to get into trouble, like how in 1993, a Sonic The Hedgehog balloon broke a lamppost and popped, injuring two people. A major event happened in 1997 when a Cat in the Hat balloon hit a lamppost, causing it to break apart and cause injuries. One person was actually put into a coma due to this incident. Other balloons got into trouble, including Barney and the Pink Panther. Size restrictions for balloons would be put in the next parade, but another incident involving an M&M’s balloon hitting a streetlight in 2005 led them to install wind measurement devices. If winds are more than 23 mph or wind gusts are more than 35 mph, the balloons would be grounded. The only time the balloons would be grounded was in 1971, before these rules.
OK, that was long… let’s move on to floats. Floats have been a vital part of the parade since it started. Some memorable floats include the turkey that is the starting float of the parade, the long running Sesame Street float, and of course Santa Claus at the end (except for in 1932 when he was at the beginning). Floats can also have performances on them.
Speaking of that, musical performances by celebrities and Broadway shows and college/high school marching bands have also been major elements. One long running act is the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, who first performed in the parade in 1957. Hundreds of marching bands have also marched down the route over the years. Warren hasn’t participated in one of them yet, although they have performed at Disney so we’ll take that.
That was just a rundown of the events… who knows what can happen this year? Well, Macy’s has got us covered. If you’re curious, here is this year’s lineup. Or just wait until it happens to see what’s there! Or not… but still enjoy Thanksgiving this year and hope that you don’t overcook the turkey.
