Oh the wonder! The awe! The elves! The New York City holiday season officially kicks off on Thursday, Nov. 26th with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This New York tradition has been around since 1924 (89 years!) and has inspired millions of families and a classic movie, Miracle on 34th Street. You’ll be giving thanks that you are renting an apartment in Manhattan when the floats, balloons, and celebrities come marching through.
The Stats — It takes a city like New York to put on a parade this spectacular!
- 8,000+ participants
- 16 giant character balloons
- 27 floats
- 12 marching bands
- 1,300 cheerleaders and dancers
- 1,000 clowns
- 2.5 miles
- 1 Mariah Carey — this year’s headliner
- 20 other celebrity performers
The Route
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade begins at 9am at Central Park West and 77th Street. This is a fantastic viewing opportunity for our No Fee Rental clients in our Upper West Side rental apartments. The parade continues down CPW to Columbus Circle where the parade turns onto Central Park South on then to 6th Ave. to 34th Street and Macy’s Herald Square. The great part about this central location is that it’s convenient to virtually all No Fee Rental buildings and our rental apartments – especially those in Murray Hill, Waverly Place, Washington Square. You can walk or take any one of seven train lines to the Herald Square Station – D, F, N. Q, R, B, and M.
The Giant Balloon Inflation
One the most special parts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the Giant Balloon Inflation from 3pm to 10pm on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. The Giant Balloon Inflation takes place in the areas surrounding the Museum of Natural History beginning at 79th Street and Columbus Avenue. To be this close to the giant balloons is incredibly memorable. You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy it. We guarantee, your friends on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat will light up seeing you up close with SpongeBob, Hello Kitty, and Snoopy. The balloons can be as high as a 5-story building!
New York is a special place, and no more so than when Santa lands his sleigh to kick off the holidays. Give thanks — you have a NYC rental apartment and the parade is coming to town!
photo credit: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade via photopin (license)