As Thanksgiving approaches, many are getting ready to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The parade, originally The Macy’s Christmas Parade, began in 1924. It was orchestrated by Macy’s employees to feature the new store in New York, and boost their holiday sales.
Over the years, the parade has featured many different balloons and floats. This year, the parade will contain twenty-two balloons and thirty-three floats, along with other entertainment groups.
“I love to see the performances of the artists and marching bands from around the country because it adds a musical part to the parade, and it’s a time for me to focus on music inspiration for myself,” freshman Emmaline Faber said.
This year, expect to see eleven marching bands from various high schools and universities, along with 28 performing artists, including Rachel Platten, Walker Hayes and Charli D’Amelio.
“I love seeing the broadway show in the parade,” freshman Kate Giles said. “It’s always so fun to see how they pull it off, and to get a sneak peek of the show debuting that year.”
As much as it has been a major success, the parade has come across some mishaps over the years resulting in serious injuries as well as issues keeping the crowd of attendees dry.
In 1927, the individuals who were in charge of balloon Felix the Cat were concerned for the inflation process and keeping it up in the air. However, when they attempted to deflate the balloon they couldn’t, and the balloon handlers just let it go. The balloon got too close to the sun and popped. Later, in 1957, Thanksgiving was a rainy day. “Popeye,” famous for his sailors cap, had filled up with water, and dumped gallons of water on spectators.
After these incidents had occurred, precautions were taken, and a new set of rules was released for people planning to enter any balloons or floats into the parade.
Part of the parade spectators await is the finale. At the very end of the show, ever since it was first introduced in 1924, Santa makes an appearance.
As many as 3.5 million on average go to watch the parade in person, and an increasing amount of 28.5 million on average watch online. Tune into NBC to watch the parade virtually, taking place on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 28th, from 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m..
