5 New Balloons Featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Astronaut+Snoopy+balloon+makes+its+way+down+New+Yorks+Central+Park+West+during+the+Macys+Thanksgiving+Day+Parade%2C+Thursday%2C+Nov.+28%2C+2019%2C+in+New+York.+%28AP+Photo%2FEduardo+Munoz+Alvarez%29

Eduardo Munoz Alvarez

Astronaut Snoopy balloon makes its way down New York’s Central Park West during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Kathleen Garcia

November 28th at 9 AM, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade commenced. The parade always takes place in New York but is broadcasted across NBC and has about 50 million TV viewers!

This year they presented five new balloons. The main one, the newly revamped Snoopy, was wearing an astronaut suit! Following him was a Green Eggs and Ham balloon based on the popular Netflix show. Also presented was the Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon, designed by Yayoi Kusama, which is a contemporary piece to show that artists also have a place to contribute their art. The second to last balloon was Smokey the Bear, he was introduced to raise awareness to prevent wildfires, celebrating his 75th birthday! Lastly, the beloved yellow sponge and his pet snail; Spongebob Squarepants and Gary. Spongebob has been in the parade for the past 15 years but never with his lovable small pet. Gary was added in order to honor Spongebob’s 20th birthday.

This year, fans also got the chance to see five brand new floats! First one being Blue’s Clues and You; this float exhibited Blues Clues and her new friend, Josh! Cracker Barrel had its own float this year named Home Sweet Home; this float showed a cozy piece of memorabilia. It displayed a warm fireplace, oil lamp, peg game, a front porch, and rocking chairs. Rexy in the City is a COACH float; the float had the COACH mascot, Rexy, pulling along a colorful and glittery coach. The Lego Group had it’s float as well. The float was named,  The Brick-Changer. It was set up to look like huge legos, a big turkey and dragon mix is seen to be bursting through a city with colors. Toy House of Marvelous Milestones was presenting the New York Life. This huge toy house displayed the most important milestones in a person’s life, such as graduation, marriage, retirement, and of course Thanksgiving Dinner!

The Thanksgiving Day Parade was originally supposed to be a Christmas Day Parade. Macy’s has been the host of this magical event since 1924. The parade usually tends to attract around 3.5 million people. In 1927, the first ever balloon to be able to participate was Felix the Cat and in 1928 Felix was inflated with helium and could not have been deflated so he was let go until he popped which was soon after. After a while, the balloons were left to fly out and pop; they had a return address on them so those who would find them would be able to return them. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade withheld through the Great Depression and has grown a lot since then. In 1930, Mickey Mouse was introduced to the parade. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the second oldest parade to occur, right behind the IKEA Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia.