By Gus Saltonstall
The Macy’s 2023 Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to the Upper West Side on November 23 to celebrate the turkey-filled holiday.
The 97th rendition of the parade will feature 16 giant balloons, 26 floats, 12 marching bands, hundreds of clowns, and Cher, as millions of people will venture into the city to watch the procession.
Here’s everything to know about the annual event, which just released the details on its 2024 music and float lineup.
Route
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade will kickoff from West 77th Street and Central Park West at 8:30 a.m., before making its way down Central Park West until Columbus Circle. From there, the procession heads toward Central Park South and Sixth Avenue, and then travels down Sixth Avenue until it reaches Macy’s Herald Square store.
You can click HERE to view the parade route and also learn more about the public viewing areas.
How To Watch
For those who would rather watch the parade from the comfort of their couch, the procession will be aired live on NBC and Peacock from 8:30 a.m. to noon in all time zones.
Performers
- Alex Smith
- Amanda Shaw
- Ashley Park
- Bell Biv Devoe
- Brandy
- Cher
- Chicago
- David Foster & Katharine McPhee
- Drew Holcomb & The Neighborhood
- Enhypen
- En Vogue
- Jessie James Decker
- Jon Batiste
- Manuel Turizo
- Miss America Grace Stanke
- Paul Russell
- Pentatonix
Balloons + Floats
Balloons
- Acorn
- Beagle Scout Snoopy (New)
- Blue Cat & Chugs (New)
- Bluey
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid
- Goku
- Grogu
- Ice Cream Cone
- Kung Fu Panda’s Po (New)
- Leo (New)
- Monkey D. Luffy (New)
- Opening Macy’s Stars
- Paw Patorl
- Pikachu & Eevee
- Pumpkins
- Red Titan From Ryan’s World
- Ronald McDonald
- Sinclair’s Dino
- Smokey Bear
- Snow Crystal Ornaments
- SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary
- Stuart the Minion
- The Pillsbury Doughboy (New)
- TipToe
- Uncle Dan (New)
Balloonicles
- Baby Dinos
- Bulldog
- Go Bowling
- Mouse King
- Nutcracker
- Tough Guy
Floats
- 1-2-3 Sesame Street
- Big City Cheer
- Big Red Shoe Car
- Big Turkey Spectacular
- Birds of a Feather Stream Together
- Camp Snoopy (New)
- Celebration Gator
- Colossal Wave of Wonder
- Deck the Halls
- Elf Pets
- Fantasy Chocolate Factory
- Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party
- Harvest in the Valley
- Heartwarming Holiday Countdown
- Igniting Memories (New)
- Macy’s Singing Christmas Tree
- Magic Meets The Sea
- Mutant Mayhem (New)
- Palace of Sweets (New)
- People of the First Lights
- Baby Shark
- Rocking Horse
- Rocking Lobster
- Rocking Moose
- Santa’s Sleigh
- The Brick-Changer
- The Deliciously Delectable World of Wonka (New)
- The Wondership
- Tom Turkey
- Winter Dragon
There will also be clown crews, performance groups, and marching bands, which you can check out — HERE.
West Side Rag will update this story closer to the parade date with street closures to know about.
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I love the parade. My kids are getting older and are less interested but I still drag at least one of them with me so I’m not the creepy old guy there alone. As I get older, I recognize fewer of the performers, but that’s OK – the kids love it.
The great part about watching on the UWS is you can get home and still catch the end on TV.
Wednesday night blowing up of the balloons has jumped the shark. It used to be a cute neighborhood tradition but now it has become pure chaos. As Yogi Berra said, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
I live in Colorado. Tradition was watching the parade while mom cooked as she’d narrate/navigate NYC for us. After her passing, took a teaching job in NYC. For Thanksgiving, one of my students invited me to Thanksgiving breakfast…their home was located right across from Central Park across from Yoko Onos condo (whaat??) along the parade route!! Dream come true. Amazing experience!
SO true – during the 80’s it was a fun quirky thing for Upper West Siders to go out and linger around – now it’s absolute chaos….
I agree, once word got out about the Inflation, people descended in droves. I haven’t gone in years. I’m also with you on not knowing who most of the performers are, but I’ve gotten used to that. It never bothered me to be the ‘creepy old guy’ at the parade, but after standing for 3 hours, I became the ‘creaky old guy, so I don’t go anymore.
The parade is one of my favorite things about the UWS. Watching the Balloon inflation is the best night of the year!