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“Macy's Day Parade” redirects here. For the Green Day song, see Macy's Day Parade (song).

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, usually the "Macy's Day Parade" in informal contexts, and originally the "Macy's Christmas Parade," is an annual parade presented by Macy's Department Store. The three-hour event is held in New York City starting at 9:00 a.m. EST Thanksgiving Day on NBC.

History

In the 1920s many of Macy's department store employees were second-generation immigrants. Proud of their new American heritage, they wanted to celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festival they loved in Europe. In 1924, the employees marched to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first Parade, as has been the case with every Parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first Parade, however, the Jolly Old Elf was enthroned on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then "crowned" "King of the Kiddies." With an audience of over a quarter of a million people, the Parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.

Large animal shaped balloons replaced the live animals in 1927 when the Felix the Cat balloon debuted. Felix was filled with air, but by the next year, helium was used to fill the expanding cast of balloons. One tradition long gone is the releasing of the balloons. They would float for days and the lucky finder or finders could claim a cash reward if he or she returned the balloon and/or its remains to Macy's.

Through the 1930s, the Parade grew and grew until crowds of over 1 million lined the Parade route in 1933. The first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the Parade in 1934. The Parade ceremonies were broadcast on local New York radio.

The Parade was suspended from 1942 - 1944 because of World War II. The rubber and helium were needed for the war effort. The Parade resumed in 1945 using the route that it still runs today. The parade gained serious fame after being prominently featured in the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street. The parade was televised in New York and drew over two million live spectators. In the 1950s, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was televised nationwide; indeed, the NBC telecast has since earned several Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Special Event Coverage, much of it the result of the genius of then producer/director Dick Schneider.

The Parade always goes on, rain or shine (except from 1942 - 1944 because of World War II), although there have been mishaps with the balloons because of inclement weather. In 1971, the winds were so bad, the balloons had to be cancelled. In 1997, high winds pushed the Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost. The falling debris put a parade-goer in a coma for a month after her skull was fractured. Safety measures were put in place to keep this type of accident from repeating itself.

Nonetheless, during the 2005 parade, a light from a Times Square streetlight fell onto two sisters in the crowd, Sarah and Mary Chamberlain, 11 and 26, after the lamp came in contact with a giant M&M balloon. The injuries were minor.

Live from New York

The Parade on NBC in its present televised form -- seen by 60 million viewers -- is hosted by that network's Today Show team of Katie Couric (until 2006), Matt Lauer and Al Roker. Members of the Today cast have handled the coverage since its inception in 1952. (In the 1970s and 80s, Tonight Show announcer Ed McMahon hosted 11 parade broadcasts.) In addition to this version, executive produced by Brad Lachman, the man best known for his legendary Solid Gold music television series of the late 1970s and early 80s, the Parade coverage has been simulcast in Spanish on NBC-owned Telemundo since 2003.

CBS has aired portions through the years, usually as part of its round-robin coverage of parades from Philadelphia, Chicago, and other U.S. cities. The competition between the two networks took an unusual turn when the 2005 streetlight accident happened. NBC (whose parade coverage is produced by the entertainment, not news unit) did not have information about the accident to relay to Couric and Lauer, and the Peacock Network went to videotaped footage from 2004, which Couric noted on-air.

CBS's parade anchors, Early Show co-hosts Hannah Storm and Dave Price, reported the incident, and CBS (whose parade coverage is a corporate production outside of news or entertainment) aired footage from the scene before signing off at noon Eastern time. On May 22, 2006, officials from Macy*s and the City of New York used the Pikachu balloon (see above picture) in a study to see what had gone wrong.

Parade Route

  • The Parade starts at the American Museum of Natural History, on 77th and 81st Sts. at Central Park West. It heads south alongside Central Park. The balloons are held close to the ground, to avoid trees and crosswinds as much as possible. At Columbus Circle (on the southwest corner of Central Park), the parade turns onto Broadway.
  • At this point, the balloons are raised to their full height. The Parade continues southeast, through Times Square, to the Macy's building at Herald Square (where Broadway intersects with 34th St. and the Avenue of the Americas).
  • There's a right turn onto 34th St, and another right onto 7th Ave, where the balloons and floats are taken down and packed up. *

See also

Resources

Parades in New York City | 1924 establishments

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade".

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