This year will be the 96th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and as we gear up for the celebration, we wanted to share with you the parade’s history and our involvement. It’s been over ten years that we’ve been a proud partner of Macy’s! This partnership has brought joy to so many who watch the event every year on the final Thursday of November.
History of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Parade first took place in 1924. The three-hour spectacle took place in Manhattan, ending outside Macy’s Herald Square. The parade runs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day, and it’s been televised nationally on NBC since 1953. The Parade’s workforce consists of Macy’s employees and their friends and family, all of whom work as volunteers. Through the 1930s, the parade continued to grow, with crowds of over one million people lining the parade route in 1933. The first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the parade in 1934. The annual festivities were broadcast on local radio stations in New York City from 1932 to 1941 and resumed in 1945, running through 1951.
The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 as a result of World War II because rubber and helium were needed for the war effort. But it resumed in 1945 and captured nationwide attention shortly afterwards, having been prominently featured in the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, which included footage of the 1946 festivities. The event had its first broadcast on network television in 1948. From 1984 to 2019, the balloons were made by Raven Industries of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, through its Raven Aerostar division.
The Macy’s Parade in Recent Years
Since 1985, the Thanksgiving Day Parade has been led by the New York City Police Department Highway Patrol. In 2019, the cast of Sesame Street led the parade in honor of the show’s 50th anniversary.
In 2005, a balloon knocked over a streetlight and injured spectators. Since then, the parade has adopted new safety measures to prevent accidents and balloon-related injuries. One measure taken was the installation of wind-measurement devices to alert parade organizers of unsafe conditions that could cause the balloons to behave erratically.
In addition, parade officials implemented a measure to keep the balloons closer to the ground during windy conditions. New York City law prohibits Macy’s from flying the full-size balloons if sustained winds exceed 20 knots (23 mph) or wind gusts exceed 30 knots (35 mph); New York’s tall buildings and mostly uniform grid plan can amplify wind velocity on city streets. Authorities haven’t had to activate the 1997 law, despite several close calls. The authorities only had to ground the balloons once–in 1971. Each balloon has a risk profile to determine handling in windy conditions. Taller, upright balloons rotate to appear horizontal and face downward in such situations (as in 2019 with a weather close-call). The remaining floats and performances continue as scheduled even when the balloons can’t fly.
On Time Elite in the Macy’s Parade
And speaking of balloons, this is where our involvement begins! Thanksgiving Day Parade workers use our units mainly the day before the parade during inflation of the balloons. These units tend to be our larger ones, (Blue and Silver) and we offer the Macy’s lead production staff an ops trailer so they can easily oversee all the parade preparations.
On the day of the event, as we all know, police close the streets on 35th and Broadway. We station our units there on both the north and south streets. All the stars walking the parade prep here.
We feel so fortunate to volunteer our services to such an event that brings families together and allows us to reflect and give thanks for all those whom we love and appreciate. We at On Time hope to do so for many more years to come and hope you enjoy this year’s celebration!