A Thanksgiving Day tradition will once again take to the streets of New York for the 89th time. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will kick off the holiday season and can be viewed on NBC.
According to the parade’s official website, it states that more than 3.5 million people will see the parade in person and about 50 million will tune in at home.
The floats, balloons, performances, and even the arrival of Santa Claus are all crowd favorites for this event. Let’s take a look at what makes this parade so special, some interesting facts, and what to expect this year.
The Floats- Every year, hundreds of floats drive up and down the 21/2-mile long route through the streets of Manhattan. These intricate and creative floats all have a story behind them and are announced as they come up the street.
Some floats are made to commemorate special anniversaries or events. An example would be at the 2005 parade. That year marked the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World and they made a replica of a showboat (the one that you can ride on at Disney World) that had a bunch of your favorite Disney characters on it.
At the time, it was the largest float that has ever been in the parade. Many of the floats have musical guests on them and some favorites in the past have been Miley Cyrus, Andrea Bocelli, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots,
The Balloons- Another favorite part of the parade are the balloons. These high flying objects glide up and down the streets with ease (depending on the weather) carried by numerous volunteers. A typical balloon requires about thirty people to help it stay in the air. The balloons are put into categories. The first group are the novelty balloons.
These are a little smaller compared to the other balloons but they still stand out. Sometimes you will see these attached to different floats or vehicles. The most famous set of balloons are next and those are the full-size balloon class.
This group consists of licensed characters and pop-culture favorites. These balloons would be characters, and crowd favorites, like Snoopy, Papa Smurf, and SpongeBob. The first balloon in the parade was Felix the Cat and it was introduced in 1927.
Back then, instead of deflating the balloons, they let them go and they put a return address on them and whoever found them would win a prize. As one can probably imagine, this was unsuccessful. Now, they keep the same balloons or make updated versions of them.
In past years, there have been issues with the balloons during the parade. Some have gotten stuck to objects while others collected too much rain on them and they began to fall.
Performances- Throughout the parade, many performances take place on the floats or in front of the Macy’s store. Usually, a dance group called Spirit of America kick off the parade with a 
routine that always wows the crowd.
A few Broadway show performances also occur during the parade. Some favorites in the past have included Wicked, Hairspray, and Jersey Boys. Who can forget about the popular Rockettes? They show off their famous moves including the kick line, preparing the crowd for the arrival of Santa Claus.
Another part of the parade is the numerous marching bands from across the states. As mentioned before, many of your favorite performers have graced the floats with their presence and performed a song that is currently one of their hits.
All of these performances are lip-synced (and it is really obvious) because performers have to use a wireless microphone. It is nearly impossible to do a live performance because of sound quality.
What to expect this year- You can still expect many floats, balloons, and numerous performances. This year’s performers include: Panic! At The Disco, Mariah Carey, Shawn Mendes, Jordin Sparks, Train, Jake Owen, Plain White T’s, Daughtry, Trey Songz, Prince Royce, Rachel Platten, Andy Grammer, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Jennifer Nettles, Questlove, Mipso, MercyMe, and Andra Day.
Elizabeth Granato
Features Editor