New York’s Famous Thanksgiving Celebration
When it comes to Thanksgiving, NYC celebrates best! The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade(opens in a new tab) is the most famous parade in the country. Since its inception in 1924, the parade has grown into an enormous spectacle. The Thanksgiving Day Parade 2021 will feature 31 floats, 30 balloons, 19 world-renowned performers, 10 marching bands, and more! After 2020’s’ reimagined Thanksgiving Parade(opens in a new tab), NYC rejoices inviting visitors back in grand fashion to ring in the 2021 holiday season!
Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons
This 2021 Thanksgiving Parade, NYC will showcase 30 giant balloons! Some balloons, such as Astronaut Snoopy and the “Believe” stars, are old, well-known friends to the Thanksgiving Parade. Others will be making their Thanksgiving debut.
Grogu (also known as “Baby Yoda”) is among the balloons making their first parade appearance. The Grogu balloon will be 41 feet tall, 29 feet long, and 37 feet wide, with his 37-foot ear span being longer than the height of a telephone pole! Seems that Baby Yoda did some growing this year.
Even taller than Grogu is Ada Twist, Scientist. This balloon (based on the popular Netflix series of the same name) is 51 feet tall! Ada often has a pen tucked behind her ear. If you lined up 28 real-life pens, they would be the same length as the pen behind balloon-Ada’s ear.
Performers
During this year’s Thanksgiving Parade, New York offers something for every musical taste. Broadway lovers will be excited to see stars such as Kristin Chenoweth and Darren Criss. Foreigner, one of the definitive rock acts of the 70s and 80s, will perform on a float called “Toy House of Marvelous Milestones.” Jon Batiste, musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will be on a float promoting the Louisiana Department of Tourism. K-Pop fans will squeal with delight when AESPA takes the stage.
Floats
Every great parade needs great floats! This Thanksgiving Day Parade, NYC will be treated to four brand new floats.
“Birds of a Feather Stream Together” will be the very first float to live-stream the parade! Sponsored by Peacock, the float will capture a birds-eye view of the parade from a camera atop a giant peacock. This video will be broadcast on monitors atop the peacock’s tail and the float itself will feature the stars of the Peacock streaming show Girls5Eva.
Tom Turkey will have the honor of being this year’s “lead float”. Tom Turkey is a veteran of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and he made his debut in 1973! This year, Tom Turkey will be self-propelled for the first time ever. Looks like 2021 has been a good year for this fan favorite!
Marching Bands
Each year, bands from all over the country excitedly flock to NYC to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After being delayed due to Covid-19, this year’s ten bands will finally get their moment to shine. This Thanksgiving Parade, NYC will be treated to bands hailing from Alabama, California, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. It will be a joyous celebration for all!
Santa
The highlight of each Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is Santa! He closes out the parade each year by welcoming in the holiday season. You’re sure to feel full of holiday cheer after watching this year’s Thanksgiving spectacle!
Where Is The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Great news, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route covers a relatively large portion of Manhattan. If you want to catch a glimpse at the Thanksgiving Parade, NYC has viewing areas all along the 2.5-mile route. Crowds will be allowed to claim spots as early as 6 am, so remember to set your alarms.
The Route
The parade will begin at 77th Street and Central Park West. Traditionally, this location is where the giant balloons are inflated the night before the parade.
From 77th street, the parade will continue south (New Yorkers like to say “downtown”), and when the Thanksgiving Parade reaches 59th street, it will turn east for two blocks. Once the Thanksgiving Parade reaches Sixth Avenue, the route will again proceed downtown to 34th street. The parade will end on 34th street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues directly in front of the South entrance to Macy’s Department store.