Macy*s Parade

Po the Kung Fu Panda floating down New York City

One of my earliest memories of Thanksgiving is going to watch the famous parade in New York City in 1981, as Snoopy, Superman, Kermit the Frog floated by the autumn cool weather in Manhattan. Ever since, I tried to watch the parade either live or taped later on, to reminisce this special tradition. The Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by the U.S.-based retail store chain Macy*s. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit. The three-hour Macy*s event is held in New York City starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day, and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1952.

Mickey Mouse parading down 6th Avenue in 1934 and in 2009

Various balloons are carried along the route, as well as various entertainers, dancers, marching bands, but the most popular are the full-size balloon class, primarily consisting of licensed pop-culture characters; each of these is handled by exactly 90 people. The balloons that are making their debut this year are: Pikachu Holiday version, Thomas the Tank Engine, Paddington Bear, Skylanders and Red Power Ranger.