Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Olden Lore

Thanksgiving Day Balloons Remind Us How Bizarre This Particular Tradition Is

by Jill Pantozzi | 2:30 pm, November 22nd, 2012

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has been a part of my life since before I can remember. I’ve always sort of took for granted the unusual nature of this particular American tradition but when you take a step back, you realize how truly odd it is. Since 1924, the department store has enlisted folks to hold on for dear life to giant balloons of pop-culture characters as they pull them down the streets of Manhattan to the awe of (usually) freezing crowds. Having lived in the New York area my entire life, I’m actually kind of ashamed I’ve never gone to see the parade in person but every year, without fail, I watch on TV. Here’s some shots of the parade from yesteryear. Take a moment to consider whether our modern balloons are less, more, or equally bizarre.

(via Facebook)

In Case You Missed It: Tim Burton’s Balloon at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

by Jamie Frevele | 11:27 am, November 25th, 2011

Yesterday, during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Tim Burton made his debut as “parade balloon designer” and introduced his original character B. Boy to the all-star lineup. B. Boy was part of an artists series called the Blue Sky Gallery, a regular part of the parade that gives artists and creators the opportunity to make a balloon that sits just outside of the mainstream “cast” of balloons. (Past artists have included Keith Haring and Takashi Murakami.) According to the Macy’s team, Burton was always very high on the list for this. B. Boy was first featured at the Museum of Modern Art last spring, and that’s when the parade team starting courting Burton. More pics, behind the scenes video, and B. Boy’s origin story after the jump!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Tim Burton’s Macy’s Parade Balloon

by Susana Polo | 10:22 am, October 24th, 2011

If you’re not American, this may come without any kind of context, but understand this: we have this holiday called Thanksgiving. Feel free to look it up and dig into it’s colonial origins, but the part of it that is most relevant to our discussion is that Macy’s, a national department store chain, throws a giant Thanksgiving parade in New York City. Famously, this parade has parade balloons. Usually of fictional characters, and in fact, getting your character as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a measure of how your creation (or creations) has become a part of American culture.

And now you know why it’s cool that Tim Burton has designed a balloon for the 2011 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Hollywood Is Threatening to Make a Movie About the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

by Jamie Frevele | 3:20 pm, March 11th, 2011

Annnnnnd … that was that. Hollywood ran out of ideas. And the only thing it’s coming up with is a movie based on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Seriously, they were so serious about this that it made it into the press where people might find out about it, read about it, and digest it with their precious brains. Apparently, Macy’s is “always looking for the next Miracle on 34th Street” and wants to turn the parade into “a four-quadrant, family-friendly film somewhere in that Night At The Museum, Elf sweet spot.” Yeah. I like all three of those movies. Please, let me speak on behalf of all moviegoers when I say that no one wants these movies to mate. Everyone involved will wake up dirty, regretful, and thinking they were so much better off as just friends.