1/10/17 3:00 PM
This is the 42nd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, held in the heart of New York City. For the first time, Charlie the Charlie Brown balloon will appear in the 103rd “Greatest Holiday Spectacular” celebration starring the Radio City Rockettes. The balloons are transported to Herald Square from Miami and selected by a special production team. Attendants will walk the parade route every morning for 20 hours, keeping an eye out for things like stray puppies and people who need help. Before a single balloon is dropped off on parade day, it must first pass a safety inspection.
11/28/17 11:00 AM
My husband and I are heading to New York City to be volunteers for the 102nd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade goes down 6th Avenue from 59th Street to Central Park West. We will greet parade goers along the route so that we can photograph them as well.
11/30/17 8:00 AM
This balloon has an especially long journey to get from Miami to New York. The enormous Charlie Brown balloon travels as much as eight miles along New York’s streets and is joined by fellow balloons like Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, Elf on a Shelf, and Pikachu. At 8:00 a.m., balloons are brought in from New York to the staging area, which has been erected at 34th Street near Broadway. Despite the cold and snowy climate of Miami, the balloon handlers are excited to be in New York. “I can’t wait to walk these streets in New York City,” says Kelsey, the handler for Charlie the balloon. “Everyone that walks by you is excited about the parade. I love that it is a bigger and better crowd in New York City. It’s going to be incredible.”
12/2/17 4:00 PM
The balloons are loaded on to floats for their overnight trip to New York City. Mallory, the Macy’s Assistant Balloon Handler, points out the route and how the parade route will differ from the route of past parades.