Watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade
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The 81st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow kicks off its two-mile journey to 34th Street at 9 a.m. and runs through noon.
Organizers expect 3.5 million live spectators and 50 million viewers nationwide who will tune in to the NBC telecast of the parade. This year’s parade lineup consists of 31 balloons, 11 giant character balloons, 24 floats, 11 marching bands, 800 clowns, and 1,900 performers.
The parade begins at 77th street and Central Park West, marches south to Columbus Circle, continues down Broadway toward Macy’s in Herald Square, and ends at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a New York tradition since 1924. The parade was originally named Macy’s Christmas Parade and its lineup included not only floats and bands but also live animals from the Central Park Zoo. Giant balloons quickly replaced live animals. The first character balloon, Felix the Cat, was introduced in 1927.
The lineup of character balloons includes four new additions: Abby Cadabby of “Sesame Street,” Supercute of “Hello Kitty,” Shrek, and a 53-foot-tall Rabbit by the artist Jeff Koons. Four new floats in the parade are the “Care Bears Winter Fun-derland,” the “International Cele-bear-ation Clock Tower,” the “M&M’s Chocolate Candies on Broadway,” and the “Music Bigger than Life” entries.
