NEW YORK — Beloved characters like Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants flew through the skies above New York City on Thursday and bands marched through the streets below as the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade kicked off the holidays.
The parade started on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and made its way past Central Park in front of large crowds and a national television audience before ending in front of Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street.
Among the big names performing is Cher, who has just released her first Christmas album. The Oscar, Emmy and Grammy Award winner has a prime spot: He performs just before Santa’s arrival, which marks the end of the parade.
Other celebrities and music groups participating include Jon Batiste, Bell Biv DeVoe, Brandy, Jessie James Decker, Pentatonix and Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke. The parade also includes performances by the casts of some Broadway shows.
The parade was briefly disrupted when about a half-dozen protesters in jumpsuits covered in fake blood stuck to the street in front of a float featuring characters from fast-food giant McDonald’s. They carried a banner that read ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Then Genocide’. Genocide now” and were taken into custody.
The parade continued while the police were at work.
New balloons debuting this year include Leo the Lizard, a character from a Netflix movie, who stands over 40 feet (12.5 meters) tall, as well as balloons that have been there before – like SpongeBob, who comes in at 41 feet (13.4 meters) height. ).
Some characters, like Snoopy, have been in the parade for years, but this year’s balloon is a new Beagle Scout Snoopy version, in honor of the 50th anniversary of his first appearance in the Peanuts comics.
However, the parade is not just about what happens in the air. At street level, the procession includes more than 20 floats, interspersed with brass bands from across the country and a number of clown crews among the 8,000 people taking part, organizers said.
Thousands lined the streets in coats on a cold, sunny morning. Children sat on their parents’ shoulders and screamed as characters like Bluey and Big Bird from Sesame Street passed by.
Terri Brown, her husband and their children, ages 3, 5 and 8, were dizzy after the 30-mile drive from Westfield, New Jersey. But their faces lit up when the parade started.
“I’ve always wanted to bring them here since I came as a kid,” Brown said. “I’m glad the weather is nice.”
Ross Greenstein drove 10 hours from Michigan to attend the parade with his daughter, who is in law school in New York, as well as his wife and two other children. Before Thursday, he had only seen the parade on TV.
“I grew up every Thanksgiving, waking up and jumping on the couch and watching the parade,” Greenstein said. “We came to the parade for the first time in my life and it feels very surreal.”
It is the 97th time the parade has been held since 1924.
The broadcast will be hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker of “Today” and will air on NBC.
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill called NBC during the parade. The president told Al Roker that people should take a moment to be grateful that they live in a country where there is so much.
“We are the greatest nation in the world. That’s what we need to focus on. We need to focus on dealing with our problems and stopping the resentment,” Biden said.