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All About the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thousands will be lining up for Macy's 97th Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade! This year's parade will feature performances by musical acts John Batiste, Bell Biv Devoe, En Vogue, Pentatonix and the Muppets of Sesame Street. US Paralympians Ezra Frech (Track & Field) and Jessica Long (Gold Medalist, Swimming) will also appear. Broadway’s brightest—including the casts of Shucked, & Juliet, Back to the Future, and more—will be spotlighted as well. Balloons include mainstays Ronald McDonald and Bluey, with newcomers Po (Kung Fu Panda), Leo (Netflix’s Leo), and Beagle Scout Snoopy on the roster as well. Notably, for the first time in the event’s 97-year history, the broadcast will begin at 8:30am, rather than the standard 9am, giving paradegoers and home audiences alike a full half-hour more of festivities, phenomena, and fun!

WHAT YOU'LL SEE

macy's balloons thanksgiving 2017

Image: Anthony Quintano/Flickr

This year’s parade boasts 11 marching bands, 25 balloons, over 30 floats, over 700 clowns, a slew of live performances, and more, according to parade Executive Producer Will Coss. And of course, says Coss, “it’s not a Macy’s parade without a little confetti.”

Among the new floats migrating across Central Park West this year are Mutant Mayhem, featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Good Burger Mobile, a 5,000-lb. vehicle promoting Good Burger 2, Paramount’s long-anticipated sequel film over 25 years in the making—to be driven by dynamic ‘90s duo Kenan Thompson & Kel Mitchell, who reprise their roles in the film.

Additionally, Brach’s Palace of Sweets, advertising Brach’s candies (atop which Brandy will be performing), features a 30-foot-tall custom-built gingerbread house, and a 25-foot tall rotating Christmas tree. The Deliciously Delectable World of Wonka, replicated after Wonka’s primary storefront in the upcoming Wonka film, contains illuminated candy jars containing approximately 592,000 pieces of candy. Promoting Solo Stove Bonfires—the world’s most popular smokeless fire pit—is the two-part “Igniting Memories” float, which aims to do just that, bringing an idyllic outdoor camping environment to the gritty streets of New York City.

From the earliest stages of conception and sketching all the way through to sculpting, painting, and carpentry, all the floats are crafted entirely by hand thanks to artisans at Macy’s Parade Studio in Moonachie, New Jersey, before being broken down and shipped through the Lincoln Tunnel to then be assembled in time for the parade. To create the floats, artisans collectively use over 2,000 gallons of paint, 300 pounds of glitter, and 200 pounds of confetti each year.

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

uncle sam 1924 macys parade

Image: Macy's Inc.

Debuting in 1924, the “parade” was originally conceived as Macy’s Christmas Parade as a promotional event to kick off the holiday shopping season. A mix of professional animal handlers and Macy’s employees would march the route with animals from the Central Park Zoo, including donkeys, tigers, elephants and camels. Due to public safety concerns —for both the audience and the animals—“balloon animals”—including oversized helium-filled versions of various beloved animated characters and pop culture fixtures—replaced the real ones in 1927.

The first of these was Felix the Cat, based on the anthropomorphic feline popular in the silent film era, which was rumored to have retired after the 1933 festivities. Countless others followed—from Big Bird and Smokey the Bear to Pikachu and Kermit the Frog—clearly spawning one of the most popular elements of the parade, which still continues today: the 2023 lineup features returning favorites like Ronald McDonald and Bluey, new novelties such as Po from Kung Fu Panda, NFT characters Blue Cat and Chugs, and of course, Snoopy, dressed this year in scout garb, which, since the balloon's 1968 debut, has appeared in 43 parades, has had over seven different designs, and holds the record for longest-running parade balloon in Macy’s history.

Performances by local bands and Broadway shows have also become a mainstay of the broadcast. Going as far back as 1949 with Milton Berle and Jimmy Durante, the performers lineup has evolved with the times, promoting the latest and greatest in a variety of genres, from Roy Rogers and Soupy Sales to Aretha Franklin and Tony Bennett, to Christina Aguilera and 98 Degrees.

“Do you believe” the 2023 parade touts a highly anticipated appearance by Cher, in addition to music groups En Vogue, Bell Biv DeVoe, Pentatonix, musical husband-and-wife David Foster & Katharine McPhee, and the Muppets of Sesame Street.

Live marching bands, promoting local high school and college groups, were added to the roster in 1971; the lineup this year boasts an impressive 12 organizations, including the Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band from Fishers, IN; the Rutgers University Marching Scarlet Knights, from Piscataway, NJ; the NYPD Marching Band, from right here in New York, NY, and notably, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Eagle Regiment High School Marching Band from Parkland, FL.

And of course, you can’t have a quintessential New York City parade without saluting the best of Broadway, which, in the past, have been audiences' first introductions to shows like Wicked, Moulin Rouge!, Billy Elliott, Dear Evan Hansen, and Mean Girls.

On tap this year are spectacular numbers from & Juliet, Back to the Future, Shucked, Spamalot, and the incoming How to Dance in Ohio.

Also included are the Radio City Rockettes, the world-famous leggy ladies premiering their monumental 90th annual happy-tappy Christmas Spectacular at the titular venue from November 17th-January 1st, 2024.

Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

It’s all capped off by a grand finale visit from that holly jolly giant in red, ushering in the holiday season and getting you into the winter season in style!!

EXTRA BALLOON FACTS

Every year, approximately 400,000 to 700,000 cubic feet of helium are used to inflate the balloons prior to the parade on Thanksgiving Day. A single large balloon can use up to 12,000 cubic feet of helium alone—for this reason, Macy’s ranks as the #2 highest consumer of helium in the world, second only to—wait for it—the U.S. government.

With no initial regimented plan in place to deflate the balloons following their first few appearances, the main attractions were simply released into the air at parade’s finish, a practice which ended in 1932, again—rightfully—over public safety concerns.


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About the Author

Matt Smith is a writer and theatre enthusiast based in New York. His work has appeared within a wide variety of theatrical publications, including Playbill.com, BroadwayWorld.com, TheaterPizzazz.com, and StageBuddy.com. For more information or further inquiry, including additional writing samples, please visit www.mattsmiththeatre.com.

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