Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2007

Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, New York, USA

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November 22, 2007
The whole of the US celebrates Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) with family gatherings, turkey feasts and American football. In New York City, you can add the fantastic Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - the only event where you'll catch the Pink Panther, Spiderman and Woody Woodpecker hanging out together. The colourful parade is one of the city's best. It features clowns, floats, marching bands and plenty of celebrities who gather for the event. But the real stars of the show are the famous "falloons" (a balloon/float hybrid). Gigantic helium balloons, representing every cartoon hero you can think of, reach high into the sky as they tower over the crowds and make their way downtown.

Parade Route

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade begins at 77th Street and Central Park West. It proceeds to Columbus Circle and turns onto Broadway. The Parade marches down Broadway and turns weston 34th Street, just past Macy's Herald Square. The parade finishes at 7th Avenue.

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 United States holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festival their parents had loved in Europe.
In 1924, the annual Thanksgiving parade started by Louis Bamberger in Newark, New Jersey at the Bamberger's store was transferred to New York by Macy's. In New York, 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.
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.
At the conclusion of some of the early parades, the balloons were released and floated away, often taking several days to come down. A reward of a $100 Macy's gift certificate was offered for anyone who found and returned any of the lost balloons. The 2006 parade (the 80th), included two new big balloons: Flying Ace Snoopy and Pikachu (remodeled with a Poke ball), along with new falloons and ballonicles: the Energizer Bunny and a Macy's balloon styled for the 80th anniversary of the parade.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Other cities in the US also have parades on Thanksgiving, but they are not run by Macy's. The nation's oldest Thanksgiving parade was first held in Philadelphia in 1920. Other cities include: Plymouth, Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington, Houston, Texas, Detroit, Michigan, and Fountain Hills, Arizona. New safety measures were incorporated in 2006 to prevent accidents and balloon related injuries. One measure taken was installation of wind measurement devices to alert parade organizers to any unsafe conditions that could cause the balloons to behave erratically. Also, parade officials implemented a measure to keep the balloons closer to the ground during windy conditions.

Date & Time

9 AM -12 PM, 22 November, 2007

Location

Macy's New York, New York City, USA

Admission

Free

Contact

212-494-4495

For more information visit : http://www.macys.com/ external link

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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2007

Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, New York, USA