Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade
The fourth Thursday in
November, celebrated throughout the U.S.
with family gatherings, turkey feasts and
football games, also marks the annual Thanksgiving Day
Parade sponsored by Macy's.
This 2.5 mile extravaganza traditionally
begins at 9 am at 77th Street, proceeds
down Central Park West to Columbus Circle
and marches down Broadway past Macy's
Herald Square store at 34th Street, where
it turns to end on 7th Avenue.
Each year, the parade
features a host of:
- clowns
- floats
- marching bands
- celebrities
- and the famous
balloons in the shapes of
everyone's favorite cartoon and
storybook characters
The parade also includes the
ubiquitous Santa Claus, whose arrival on
a rather ornate sled signals the end of
the parade each year and announces the
kick-off the critical retail selling
season that starts the day after
Thanksgiving.
The People Behind
the Scenes
Key to the success
of the parade each year are the 4,000 or
so volunteers (largely Macy's employees
and their friends and relatives) who stay
up late the night before as the balloons
are blown up, arrive at starting line by
7:30 am the next morning to make final
preparations, and brave cold winds, rain,
snow or anything else Mother Nature
dishes out -- because no matter what, the
show must go on. About 1,200 of these
volunteers act as balloon handlers for
the giant helium balloons, which are the
parade's main attraction and which can
weigh more than 500 pounds each.
Best Spots to See
the Parade
We've tried a
number of different vantage points over
the years; our favorite spot to view the
parade remains Duffy Square (where
Broadway crosses Seventh Avenue at 46th
Street). We've never encountered the huge
crowds here that mob the prime viewing
spots at Columbus Circle or Times Square,
which has allowed us to actually see the
floats and marching bands, rather than
just glimpsing the balloons above other
people's heads.
Your best bet is to stay
away from Seventh Avenue at 34th Street
since the convergence of suburbanites
from Penn Station (where the Long Island
Railroad and New Jersey Transit trains
deposit riders) and the nearby PATH
trains make this area especially crazy.
Parade watchers are dozens deep which
means that only children lucky enough to
sit on their parent's shoulders or people
smart enough to bring a step ladder can
see over the crowd.
Getting a Close-up
of the Balloons
The best way to get
up-close and personal with the balloons
(which are the true stars of the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade) is to visit the
West Side the night before.
Balloon inflation takes place on 77th and
81st Streets between Central Park West
and Columbus. These streets are closed so
that parade volunteers can lay out the
huge balloons and begin to fill them with
helium. Watching favorite characters take
shape is exciting for adults and kids
alike.
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