Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade: 2020 Version   

This year, Macy’s 94th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade will air from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Nov. 26th, on NBC. It will look much like the 2019 parade—on your television set.  

But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality on the ground will be very, very different. 

This iconic event normally brings massive crowds to Manhattan streets; last year, about 3.5 million spectators lined the 2.5-mile parade route. In 2019, there were between 8,000 and 10,000 parade participants, including performers, staff and balloon handlers. 

Macy’s parade 2015

This year, all activity will be centered on the Herald Square area in Midtown—and the only way to view the event will be on television. Fewer than 2,000 people will work on the parade. Some segments of the program will be filmed over two days, though most of the action will take place live on Thanksgiving Day.  Typically, the parade’s large balloons are anchored by up to 100 trained handlers and a vehicle; this year the balloons will be anchored by five specially-rigged vehicles. 

There will be social distancing on site, staggered call times, masks and wellness checks; the entire production will follow the guidelines set forth by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

While New Yorkers will be deprived of a favorite “in-person” annual event, viewers across the U.S.A will still see a parade that resembles those of years past.  

There will still be floats and balloons, Santa and elements of the usual parades. New attractions include a 48-foot-tall inflatable “Boss Baby” and Red Titan from You Tube’s “Ryan’s World” series. 

One of the new floats New floats is “Her Future is STEMsational,”  presented by Olay in celebration of women working in science, technology, math and engineering. Another new float is “Christmas in Town Square,” inspired by Lifetime’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime holiday film. 

Old-timers Tom and Jerry share a float celebrating their return to the movies in 2021. 

This altered parade continues a tradition that started back in the 1920s, when America’s doors were wide open and millions of immigrants passed through Ellis Island. Many Macy’s employees were first generation immigrants, proud of being new Americans and wanting to celebrate an American holiday with the kind of festivals they’d known in Europe.  

 That first year—1924—the employees, dressed as clowns, cowboys, knights and sheiks– marched from 145th Street down to 34th Street. Accompanying them were floats, bands and 25 live animals—including camels and elephants–borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. A quarter of a million spectators turned out to see what was first called the Macy’s Christmas Day Parade.  

Though the parade has become bigger and more elaborate each year, the clowns—mainly Macy’s employees–remain the heart and soul of the event. They take courses on makeup and costume, on how to use confetti and most important, how to stay lively and animated for the entire three-hour parade.  

The original Felix the Cat Balloon.

The famous giant balloons first appeared in 1927–Felix the Cat was the first—but they didn’t last long. As no one took into account the fact that helium expands at high altitudes, those first balloons exploded when released.  

The following year, the formula of helium and air was perfected and in a dramatic finale to the parade, all the balloons were successfully released. Later, they’d be equipped with a return address and an offer of a prize, but after a couple of near-disasters—like an aviator almost crashing as he tried to retrieve a balloon, that practice was discontinued. 

Celebrities like Harpo Marx and Benny Goodman arrived in the 1930s to fill the gap. During the depression, Santa’s arrival was broadcast on the radio and more than a million people lined the city streets looking for a brief escape from the harsh realities of breadlines and unemployment.  

When World War II broke out, the parade was suspended; rubber and helium could not be spared for entertainment. And when it resumed in 1945, the parade—with celebrities like Jackie Gleason, Shirley Temple and Jimmy Durante–was televised for all America to see. Later, stars like Sid Caesar, Danny Kaye and even Howdy Doody made appearances, along with Mickey Mouse and his Disney pals, as well as Superman and other comic book characters. 

Rain or shine, the parade went on each year, except for 1971, when high winds made it impossible. 

And this year, carrying on the Macy’s tradition of celebrating American holidays and history and giving back to the American people, the Thanksgiving Day Parade will go on! 

Happy Thanksgiving!