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NYC sees ideal weather as Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ushers in peak pageantry
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Nov 23, 2023
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Elizabeth Kim
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Elizabeth Kim
Published Nov 23, 2023
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7 a.m. is the witching hour for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And as hundreds of participants raced to find their places as the sun rose Thursday morning, gray-haired float builder John Cheney stood relaxed in the center of the maelstrom.
After all, his work was done, and it was far from the first time he’d joined the parade. He first started building floats in 1976. Thursday marked parade number 47.
“We used to do the setup and take them down all within 24 hours,” he said. “So now we're doing it in two days. So we've got more energy this morning, which is good.”
Now in its 97th year, the annual helium-fueled pomp-and-circumstance is more than ever a celebration global in reach but quintessentially New York City in scene and scale.
Over the next hour, thousands of participants — many of them from across the country — readied to join the procession, which runs from the Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side to Herald Square.
Several million people typically prepare to brave the cold to watch the parade in person. But this year Mother Nature provided near perfect conditions: Early morning temperatures hovered around the mid-40s, and the clouds were making way for a clear blue sky.
Even more critical to the fate of the giant balloons — Snoopy, Pillsbury Doughboy, Willy Wonka and Kung Fu Panda, to name a few — the winds were calm.
The annual parade ushers in peak pageantry.
Elizabeth Kim
The start of this year’s parade was moved up a half hour earlier to 8:30 a.m, a shift that didn’t appear to make a difference to the hundreds who arrived before sunrise to nab the best viewing spots along Central Park West.
Even before the parade began, there was plenty for spectators to see. In front of the Museum of Natural History, a group of cheerleaders, their hair adorned with neon yellow bows, wrapped themselves in silver foil wrappers for warmth as they waited.
Not far away, the marching band from Alabama A&M looked stalwart in their maroon and white uniforms. After a 16-hour bus ride, the troupe was set to make their first appearance in the parade, playing holiday songs mixed with “a little hip hop and R&B,” said John Lennard, a graduate assistant with the marching band.
“It's kind of a medley of our culture down in Huntsville, Alabama,” he said.
The marching band from Alabama A&M took a 16-hour bus ride to join the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Elizabeth Kim
Also stationed along the parade route were thousands of NYPD officers, reflecting the reality of increased threats and anxieties. On Wednesday, a car explosion that killed two men near the U.S.-Canadian border prompted the closure of multiple bridges and an investigation. Officials later said there was no evidence the blast was related to terrorism.
Mayor Eric Adams said he did not see “any nexus” between the explosion and New York City and that the NYPD had not changed its plans as a result. The city has been on high alert since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
War demonstrators did interrupt the parade at one point. On the route along Sixth Avenue and 49th Street, roughly 30 pro-Palestinian protesters managed to jump the barricades and unfurl a sign that read, “Liberation for Palestine and planet.” The NYPD said several protesters were taken into custody, and the demonstration did not affect the parade route.
John Iannazzo, a retired NYPD officer who lives in the Bronx, remembers well the job of working the parade. He covered 20 of them, staying up through the night to assist with the set up. “Now watching with my family, I get to enjoy it with the people I’m most thankful for,” he said.
Iannazzo and his family arrived on Central Park West at 6:15 a.m. “We wanted the best spot,” he said.
For early risers and the rest who straggled in, the year-in-the-making extravagance did not disappoint: 25 balloons, 26 floats, 700 clowns, about a dozen marching bands, and thousands of cheerleaders and dancers.
The marquee performers this year included Cher, jazz pianist Jon Batiste, a capella group Pentatonix and R&B singer Brandy.
Reginald Guervi, from Queens, stood grinning ear to ear as he waited in his red and white uniform as one of many banner carriers. He was marching in his first parade as a Bloomingdale’s employee.
“As a kid my mom used to live in the city. So I used to camp out just to catch a glimpse of the stars and celebrities,” he said. “And now I'm in it.”
Tagged
nyc events
manhattan
art
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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