EGN NEWS DESK
NEW YORK — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade marched, soared and roared into its second century on Thursday regardless of a drenching rain and a quick disruption from pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
New York City police stated they arrested 21 individuals after protesters jumped barricades and sat down on the parade route with Palestinian flags and a “Don’t Celebrate Genocide” banner. They chanted “Free, free Palestine!” as a large Ronald McDonald balloon bore down on them on Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue.
People protesting Israel’s battle in Gaza additionally interrupted final yr’s parade.
Thanks to the moist climate, ponchos and umbrellas had been a part of the festivities, together with the same old big balloons, floats and star-studded performances.
The newest version of the annual vacation custom featured new Spider-Man and Minnie Mouse balloons, zoo and pasta-themed floats, an ode to Big Apple coffee and bagels, performances from Jennifer Hudson, Idina Menzel and Kylie Minogue, and extra.
The lineup was a far cry from the parade’s preliminary incarnation 100 years in the past, which featured floats displaying scenes from Mother Goose, Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Miss Muffet and the Spider, and different fairy tales.
Some issues remained the identical, although. As in 1924, there have been loads of marching bands and many clowns, adopted by the grand finale of Santa Claus ushering within the vacation season.
This yr’s parade featured 17 big, helium-filled character balloons, 22 floats, 15 novelty and heritage inflatables, 11 marching bands from as far-off as Texas and South Dakota, 700 clowns, 10 efficiency teams, award-winning singers and actors, and the WNBA champion New York Liberty.
Other highlights included actuality TV star Ariana Madix, hip-hop’s T-Pain, nation duo Dan + Shay, The War and Treaty, The Temptations, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Broadway veteran Lea Salonga, and “Glow” actor and Macy’s spokesperson Alison Brie.
One new float spotlighted the Rao’s meals model, that includes a knight and a dragon in battle made with precise pasta parts. Another celebrated the Bronx Zoo’s a hundred and twenty fifth anniversary with representations of a tiger, a giraffe, a zebra and a gorilla.
“The work that we do, the chance to impression thousands and thousands of individuals and convey a little bit of pleasure for a few hours on Thanksgiving morning, is what motivates us day by day,” stated Will Coss, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade government producer.
The parade route stretched 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to Macy’s Herald Square flagship retailer on thirty fourth Street, which served as a efficiency backdrop.
NBC’s Al Roker walked a part of the route earlier than becoming a member of co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb outdoors the shop for the rest of the reside TV protection. “Wicked” movie star Cynthia Erivo offered the retiring Kotb with flowers to commemorate what might be her final parade broadcast.
The rain did not cease something — the parade has solely been canceled thrice, from 1942 to 1944 throughout World War II — however organizers monitored wind speeds to ensure the large balloons had been secure to fly.
Temperatures hovered close to 50ºF (10ºC), with rain all through the morning and winds round 10 mph (16 kph), properly inside the acceptable vary for letting Snoopy, Bluey and their associates soar. City legislation prohibits Macy’s from flying full-size balloons if sustained winds exceed 23 mph (37 kph) or wind gusts are over 35 mph (56 kph).
