This Thanksgiving marks the 96th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Three miles worth of beautiful floats, high-flying balloons, live music and contagious happiness all began back in 1924.
Macy’s, originally known as R.H. Macy & Co., threw the parade for the first time to celebrate its store’s expansion— one whole city block. From Broadway to 7th Avenue, the store was the largest in the world, with 1 million square feet, according to History.com.
However, it was not originally intended to commemorate Thanksgiving. Rather, the parade was intended to kick off the holiday shopping season. It began as the Macy’s Christmas Parade. Starting in Harlem, the first parade in 1924 stretched across 6 miles, and marched to its endpoint destination – the front of the Macy’s Department Store in Herald Square. Macy’s employees dressed as characters and clowns, marching underneath children’s story balloons and alongside bands and live animals. The parade was such a success, Macy’s announced the very next day that they would be doing it again the following Thanksgiving.
Throughout the yearly tradition, some necessary amendments were made. The use of live animals was removed, the mileage was scaled back, and the number of balloons grew as they rose to become the overall top attraction.
It wasn’t until the 1930s that celebrities became involved with the parade. Eddie Cantor was the first singer-actor to join the parade in 1934. Since then, politicians, singers, Broadway actors and more have joined the parade— making special appearances, performing and signing autographs along the spectator fence.
Even from Day One, visiting New York to see the nowThanksgiving Day Parade is not an easy feat. Lines can make it difficult to see and it’s often tight to walk around the crowd. There are 2.2 miles of viewing ground blocked off for spectators along the route of the parade, and it is fenced in for viewer safety. The experience is still just as special, however. The balloons and floats are designed to be seen from anywhere in the spectator area, and then some. The parade marchers often come by the spectator fence, giving viewers special treats as well.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has only been cancelled once since its inception. During World War II, helium and rubber were hard to come by. The shortage meant cancelling the parade in 1942, 1943 and 1944.
However, since then, the parade has not been cancelled again— not even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Albeit, fewer spectators were allowed, and there were no marching bands or performers, but the parade still aired on TV. In keeping with its festive mission, it insisted, “the show must go on.”
Planning the Thanksgiving Day Parade is a year-round effort. The parade’s Executive Producer, Will Coss, and his team try to outdo themselves year after year, which is the reason the evolution of the parade has been so extravagant.
The 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will consist of 26 balloons, 32 floats, 12 marching bands, 30 clowns, a variety of utility vehicles, stilt-walkers, characters and celebrities. Brand new floats and balloons are highly anticipated— especially the debut of the Toys “R” Us float, marking the beloved store’s revival in Macy’s stores. And, as always, Santa Claus will be riding on his sleigh to be the first to welcome the New York Holiday Season.
Starting on West 77th Street and Central Park West, the parade will march south down Central Park West to Columbus Circle. Then, the parade will march east down Central Park South to 6th Avenue. It will continue on 6th avenue for 25 blocks to 34th Street, and march up 34th Street to 7th Avenue, finishing directly in front of Macy’s Herald Square.
In order to find the best viewing areas, and more importantly, where not to go, visit centralpark.com.
The parade will also be aired on live television by NBC, the official broadcaster of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, as well as CBS, where the crew of Entertainment Tonight will set up shop. Tune in as early as 9 a.m. and be sure to catch the first balloon!
