Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Sunshine, smiles and all-around good vibes at NYC's Thanksgiving Day Parade
By
Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky
Published Nov 24, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Zakiyyah Woods for Gothamist
By
Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky
Published Nov 24, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The 96th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade brought droves of spectators and high spirits to the Upper West Side and Midtown Thursday morning.
The parade, which featured dozens of balloons and thousands of performers, wound its way from Central Park down to Herald Square over the course of a few hours. All along the parade route, attendees jammed to the sounds of marching bands, including the Queer Big Apple Corps and the Columbia, South Carolina’s Benedict College Marching Tiger Band of Distinction.
The crowds were dense along the parade route and spectators laughed, cheered and threw confetti as the floats passed.
A Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade reveler.
Zakiyyah Woods for Gothamist
Even being sandwiched between a police barricade and a Magnolia Bakery wasn’t enough to dampen Chabeli Martinez’s mood. She perched on a friend’s shoulders and led her brother and cousin in a rousing chorus of the Spongebob Squarepants theme song, just as the parade’s Spongebob and Gary balloon cruised through Columbus Circle.
Heroes walked the streets of NYC.
Zakiyyah Woods for Gothamist
“Everybody's taking pictures. Everybody's smiling in their cute winter hats,” Martinez said. “And I love the vibes.”
In addition to old standbys like Papa Smurf and the Pillsbury Doughboy, this year’s parade included new balloons from such beloved intellectual properties as Despicable Me, Bluey and Diary of a Wimpy Kid — as well as gasoline company Sinclair Oil.
“A DINOSAUR!” cried three-year-old Santiago Resendes from his mother Lacey’s shoulders as he spotted the corporation’s float, which depicts its prehistoric mascot being ridden by another, smaller dinosaur. “A brontosaurus and a T-Rex!”
Members of the Klemm and Simunek families (the Klemunecks) have traveled from Piscataway, NJ for over twenty years to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in the same spot on Central Park West.
Zakiyyah Woods for Gothamist
The dinosaurs were green, added Resendes, who also referred to the Spongebob balloon as “crab on a cheese.”
Gothamist spoke to some attendees for whom this was their first Thanksgiving parade, or even their first Thanksgiving.
Ciara McGowan, who grew up in Ireland but now lives in Brooklyn, took in the sights and sounds of her first parade from the end of the route in Herald Square. She said she was particularly impressed to see TV presenter and actor Mario Lopez appear astride a gigantic turkey.
“The turkey was pretty impressive, and so was he,” she said, adding that after the parade she’ll be attending her first-ever Thanksgiving meal, complete with cranberry sauce. “I’m very excited.”
Tom, the Macy's Thanksgiving turkey.
Zakiyyah Woods for Gothamist
Tagged
macy's thankgiving day parade
Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky
Jaclyn is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
New Yorkers are paying $300 million for natural gas they don't even use
A new study found that nearly 2% of the city's natural gas is leaking into the air and causing climate pollution.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
Because the vote against it was unanimous, here are your early links: Jacket weather, swishing your Guinness, spooky decorations in North Jersey and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
Because the vote against it was unanimous, here are your early links: Jacket weather, swishing your Guinness, spooky decorations in North Jersey and more.
By
James Ramsay
Hit-and-run driver arrested trying to flee to Uzbekistan after deadly crash, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
NY measles outbreak more widespread than official count, health officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
A NYC judge brought his gun into court for an ‘experiment’. Now he’s censured.
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .