Just as the turkey is a tradition on the table, watching the 95th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is also synonymous with Thanksgiving.
A few Nashville favorites will perform: Carrie Underwood and Jimmie Allen will return to perform again this year along with Mickey Guyton, and Chris Lane. Other artists performing include Jon Batiste, Blue’s Clues & You! host Josh Dela Cruz and the former hosts of Blue’s Clues Steve Burns and Donovan Patton, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Jordan Fisher, Foreigner, the cast of Peacock’s Girls5eva (Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps), Andy Grammer, Miss America 2020 Camille Schrier, the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street®, Nelly, Kim Petras, Kelly Rowland, Rob Thomas, Tai Verdes, Zoe Wees, and Tauren Wells.
The 95th annual Macy’s Parade will feature 15 giant character balloons, 28 floats, 36 novelty and heritage inflatables, more than 800 clowns, 10 marching bands and 9 performance groups, a host of musical stars, and the one-and-only Santa Claus. Everyone will be able to watch the annual event which will be televised beginning at 9 am.
Beginning in 1924, the tradition has been long-held and noted for its giant inflatable character balloons, floats, and more. But did you know the parade was a radio broadcast before becoming televised in 1946 on NBC?
Below are five other interesting facts about Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
- Originally, it was a Christmas parade. The first parade was organized in 1924 with floats, bands, and animals from the zoo. Three years later, the parade was renamed to the Thanksgiving parade.
- The large balloons came to the parade in 1927. Mickey Mouse first made an appearance in 1934 and each year since then. The tradition in the early years was at the end of the parade to allow the balloons to float away, if you were lucky enough to find one, you could find a Macy’s gift card inside.
- For the parade, there are typically 4,000 volunteers. Each balloon has a balloon pilot who leads the handlers through the parade while walking backward the entire time.
- The parade’s floats and balloons are built in a former tootsie roll factory in New Jersey but in order to make it to the start of the parade, they must size down to fit thru the Lincoln Tunnel.
- There have been a few mishaps over the years. In 1957, a wet day got wetter for people near a Popeye balloon when the character’s hat filled with water and drenched parade watchers. It happened again in 1962 with a Donald Duck hat. And one year Superman lost an arm in a tree branch.
