Why it is worth attending
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a New York institution built around giant character balloons, elaborate floats, marching bands, performance groups and appearances by figures from popular culture. Held on Thanksgiving morning, the televised procession turns a long section of Manhattan into a moving outdoor stage before reaching the Macy's flagship at Herald Square.
What to expect
The parade began in 1924 and grew from a department-store celebration into one of the city's best-known annual spectacles. Its balloons require teams of handlers and carefully managed street space, while bands and performers arrive from around the United States. The separate balloon-inflation period has also become part of the event's public identity.
Before you go
Its scale changes the rhythm of Midtown and the Upper West Side for much of the holiday period. City street-closure plans document extensive restrictions around the route and staging areas, and the pavement audience numbers in the millions. Beyond the live crowd, the national broadcast has made the parade a shared American Thanksgiving ritual.
