Prompt Cast
The History and Traditions of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
TLDR The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a beloved tradition that started in 1924, has grown into a massive event with millions of attendees and viewers. Featuring floats, balloons, and iconic moments, the parade has become a time capsule of each year and showcases the creativity and spirit of the holiday season.
Timestamped Summary
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a longstanding tradition that was started by Macy's employees in 1924 and has continued for 96 years, with the majority of participants being Macy's employees, friends, and family members.
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has grown from a quarter of a million attendees in its first year to three and a half million in recent years, with an additional 50 million viewers watching on TV, and has transitioned from a Christmas parade to a Thanksgiving parade featuring floats and balloons, including the first character balloon in 1927.
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade acts as a time capsule, featuring floats and balloons that represent the current year, but also including past characters and moments that transport viewers to specific years in the past.
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In 1928, Macy's tried a promotion where they released balloons that would float around the country and if someone caught one and brought it back to Macy's, they would receive $100, but the promotion was eventually stopped due to people using airplanes to catch the balloons.
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Macy's Parade Studio is where the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are made and tested, and they used to repurpose balloons before the 80s; they also have a Blue Sky Gallery where famous artists submit designs for balloons.
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade started using helium in 1928, except for a brief period in 1958 due to a helium shortage, and requires a large number of handlers to keep the balloons from floating away during the parade.
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has had incidents where giant character balloons have gone out of control, causing injuries and damage, leading to the city of New York implementing safety measures such as setting wind speed limits for flying the balloons and removing street lights and other obstacles along the parade route.
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The floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are collapsible and can be folded down to fit through the Lincoln tunnel, and they are made of sturdy welded metal structures, taking three to five months to build and costing up to $100,000 each.
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Selling sponsorships for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has helped offset the costs, with companies reportedly paying around $200,000 to sponsor a new balloon, although it is speculated that the actual cost may be higher.
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is known for its lip syncing performances and infamous moments, such as John Legend apologizing for lip syncing and Fred Gwynne getting drunk and cursing at the hosts while dressed as Herman Munster.
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The 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be TV-only due to the pandemic, taking place in front of the Macy's Herald Square flagship store with social distancing and masks in place.
Categories:
Society & Culture
