Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to Follow Pre-COVID Street Route

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be back to its pre-pandemic glory this year, including a full route through Manhattan, balloons with handlers and crowds back in place, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The 95th annual parade will be a return to form from the previous year when pandemic restrictions were in place, according to the report.

“For our 95th celebration, Macy’s has created a spectacle to remember featuring a dazzling array of high-flying balloons, animated floats and incredible performers,” Will Coss, executive producer of the parade, said in a statement, per the AP. “We can’t wait to help New York City and the nation kick off the holiday season with the return of this cherished tradition.”

Last year’s event saw the normal two-and-a-half-mile route through Manhattan done away with, instead with events taking place on a one-block section of 34th Street in front of the retailer’s Manhattan flagship store, the report stated. The event had several pre-taped performances, and performers were more locally based to cut down on pandemic travel.

This year, the parade will come with new balloons, including Ada Twist, Scientist and Pokemon characters Pikachu and Eevee, according to the report. Broadway will be represented by the casts of “Six,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Wicked.” There will be 15 giant character balloons, 28 floats, 36 novelty and heritage inflatables and over 800 clowns. There will also be 10 marching bands and nine performance groups. And Santa Claus will be there.

New floats will be led by the cast of “Girls5eva,” and there will be celebrities in attendance, including Carrie Underwood, Jimmie Allen, Kelly Rowland, Rob Thomas, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Foreigner, Andy Grammer, Mickey Guyton, Chris Lane and Miss America Camille Schrier, along with “Sesame Street” Muppets and “Blues Clues” hosts.

Meanwhile, as the pandemic continues 18 months on, economic fears have outpaced disease worries by now. The economy “is now consumers’ top concern regarding the pandemic’s impact on their lives,” according to a PYMNTS report.

Read more: Economic and Lockdown Fears Are Eclipsing the Contagion