Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade 2024: 6 new balloons, range of performers including Kylie Minogue, Temptations
The scene from a sun-filled Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade along Central Park West in 2017. Credit: AP/Craig Ruttle
Chances are it might rain on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday but that won't stop the festivities.
Six new balloons — including Disney's Minnie Mouse, Marshall from PAW Patrol and Spiderman — will make their parade debuts and more than 3.5 million people are expected to line the Manhattan parade route. Another 50-million-plus viewers are expected to watch on TV.
Pre-parade events begin in earnest Wednesday, with the Macy's Balloon Inflation and Float Viewing event, open to the public from 1 to 6 p.m. beginning with entrance to a queue area at West 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue. The line opens Wednesday at noon.
The parade broadcast will be shown live Thursday on NBC and Peacock, running from 8:30 a.m. until noon, with the parade route stretching from West 77th Street and Central Park West, then onto Central Park South and down Sixth Avenue to its final destination on West 34th Street at Macy's Herald Square.
This is the 100th anniversary of the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, launched in 1924, although the parade didn't take place between 1942-44 due to World War II.
The event is the second-oldest major Thanksgiving Day Parade in the United States, along with the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit. The oldest parade began in Philadelphia in 1920.
This year's parade figures to be a full viewing spectacle, with 22 big balloons, seven so-called balloonicles, 34 floats, 11 marching bands, 28 performers, 28 clown crews and 11 performance groups all featured as part of the parade festivities. Macy's said the best viewing areas for those attending the parade live will be along Sixth Avenue between West 59th and West 38th streets.
Central Park West will be closed to traffic from West 72nd to West 86th streets beginning at midnight Wednesday through noon Thursday, as will the 79th Street Transverse, officials said.
The Long Island Rail Road has announced the addition of six morning westbound trains from Jamaica — 7:15 a.m., 7:18 a.m., 7:42 a.m. and 8:21 a.m. to Penn Station; 7:51 a.m. and 7:54 a.m. to Grand Central Terminal — and four additional eastbound trains from Penn to Jamaica and five from Grand Central to Jamaica. Those eastbound trains will depart Penn at 11:20 a.m., 11:32 a.m., 12:08 p.m. and 12:34 p.m., and Grand Central at 12:13 p.m., 12:28 p.m., 12:42 p.m., 12:48 p.m. and 12:51 p.m.
The National Weather Service is calling for a 70% chance of showers beginning around 1 a.m. Thursday and continuing through the prime parade time and into early afternoon. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s with light winds.
Joining the field of iconic parade balloons that includes Beagle Scout Snoopy, Bluey, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald and Smokey Bear will be six new balloons.
New parade floats for 2024 include Haribo's Candy Cosmos, Dora's Fantastical Rainforest, and Disney Cruise's Magic Meets the Seas, among others. They'll join staples like Tom Turkey, the Big Red Shoe Car with Ronald McDonald, and 1-2-3 Sesame Street.
Featured performers this year include Alex Warren, Ariana Madix, Idina Menzel, Kylie Minogue and The Temptations. Grandstand seating is for VIPs only, with no access for the general public.
Chances are it might rain on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday but that won't stop the festivities.
Six new balloons — including Disney's Minnie Mouse, Marshall from PAW Patrol and Spiderman — will make their parade debuts and more than 3.5 million people are expected to line the Manhattan parade route. Another 50-million-plus viewers are expected to watch on TV.
Pre-parade events begin in earnest Wednesday, with the Macy's Balloon Inflation and Float Viewing event, open to the public from 1 to 6 p.m. beginning with entrance to a queue area at West 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue. The line opens Wednesday at noon.
The parade broadcast will be shown live Thursday on NBC and Peacock, running from 8:30 a.m. until noon, with the parade route stretching from West 77th Street and Central Park West, then onto Central Park South and down Sixth Avenue to its final destination on West 34th Street at Macy's Herald Square.
This is the 100th anniversary of the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, launched in 1924, although the parade didn't take place between 1942-44 due to World War II.
The event is the second-oldest major Thanksgiving Day Parade in the United States, along with the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit. The oldest parade began in Philadelphia in 1920.
This year's parade figures to be a full viewing spectacle, with 22 big balloons, seven so-called balloonicles, 34 floats, 11 marching bands, 28 performers, 28 clown crews and 11 performance groups all featured as part of the parade festivities. Macy's said the best viewing areas for those attending the parade live will be along Sixth Avenue between West 59th and West 38th streets.
Central Park West will be closed to traffic from West 72nd to West 86th streets beginning at midnight Wednesday through noon Thursday, as will the 79th Street Transverse, officials said.
The Long Island Rail Road has announced the addition of six morning westbound trains from Jamaica — 7:15 a.m., 7:18 a.m., 7:42 a.m. and 8:21 a.m. to Penn Station; 7:51 a.m. and 7:54 a.m. to Grand Central Terminal — and four additional eastbound trains from Penn to Jamaica and five from Grand Central to Jamaica. Those eastbound trains will depart Penn at 11:20 a.m., 11:32 a.m., 12:08 p.m. and 12:34 p.m., and Grand Central at 12:13 p.m., 12:28 p.m., 12:42 p.m., 12:48 p.m. and 12:51 p.m.
The National Weather Service is calling for a 70% chance of showers beginning around 1 a.m. Thursday and continuing through the prime parade time and into early afternoon. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s with light winds.
Joining the field of iconic parade balloons that includes Beagle Scout Snoopy, Bluey, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald and Smokey Bear will be six new balloons.
New parade floats for 2024 include Haribo's Candy Cosmos, Dora's Fantastical Rainforest, and Disney Cruise's Magic Meets the Seas, among others. They'll join staples like Tom Turkey, the Big Red Shoe Car with Ronald McDonald, and 1-2-3 Sesame Street.
Featured performers this year include Alex Warren, Ariana Madix, Idina Menzel, Kylie Minogue and The Temptations. Grandstand seating is for VIPs only, with no access for the general public.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
LI school test scores results ... Look at a 1700s Thanksgiving ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
LI school test scores results ... Look at a 1700s Thanksgiving ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
