Will Macy’s parade top past years?
By Ann Shelley
Personally, I have never seen the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in person. However, watching it on TV seems better than sitting and waiting for hours in the same spot to secure it. Many individuals give the advice of showing up around 6:00 am in the morning to secure a spot. The places designated to watch are Central Park West, Columbus Circle, 7th Avenue, 42nd Street, 6th Avenue and 34th Street.
The tradition of watching the parade on TV is found in many families across the United States. To give one an idea of how many individuals are involved; the 2010 parade featured 1600 cheerleaders and dancers, 850 clowns, 15 giant character balloons, 27 floats, 12 marching bands and 43 other novelty balloonheads.
A short history of the parade will make you understand why it’s so special in today’s day and age. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade made its debut back in 1924. Ever since then it has happened every year, besides during 1942 to 1944 when the parade was suspended due to World War II. The first ever televised parade was the one in 1939. It usually is a three-hour event and has an unveiling of “Santa Claus” after. The Macy’s Day Parade lures 44 million people on TV to watch it, as well as, 3 million live viewers.
The biggest focus every year is on the balloon heads to see what new ones they come out with. I found a bunch that I loved in the past and really hope they bring out new ones again for this year. The first floats were designed with nursery-rhyme themes with Little Miss Muffet and Little Red Riding Hood being part of it. Snoopy has appeared the most in all 91 parades. The most recent popular ones were the brand new Trolls balloon, Charlie Brown (second version) and Greg Heffley (second version).
Last year was the 90th anniversary, which makes the celebration of the 91st tough to compete with. The 2000s were a time of great growth for the parade. Spongebob Squarepants got his first float and new innovation with the floats. The new ones this year are Chase Balloon, Dr. Seuss Grinch Balloon, Super Wings Jett Balloon and Frozen Olaf the snowman balloon.