UWS Thanksgiving Weekend: Great Things To Do in the Neighborhood

By Tracy Zwick

It’s a long weekend with Thanksgiving on Thursday, and it starts this afternoon. Let’s Weekend (Early)!  

November 27 to December 1, 2024

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Inflation Event and Parade Viewing: Inflation on Wednesday, Nov. 27, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m, outside the American Museum of Natural History, from West 77th to 81st streets, between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West; Parade on Thursday, Nov. 28th, starting at 8:30 a.m., public viewing along most of the parade route; Free 

Before the iconic balloons make their way south along Central Park West and the 2.5-mile parade route, watch them come to life just outside the AMNH on the UWS. There are 22 balloons in total this year, with 13 new entrants including Minnie Mouse, Paw Patrol, Spider-Man, Gabby, and Noorah & The Elf on the Shelf. Don’t sleep on longtime favorites like Ronald McDonald, Smokey the Bear, and the Pillsbury Doughboy, which should also be outside of the AMNH Wednesday. Find them all here.   

The parade itself kicks off Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at Central Park West and 77th Street. Early risers start arriving at 6:00 a.m. to the westside of CPW from West 75th to West 61st Streets for public viewing. There’s no public viewing between West 59th and West 60th Streets. In addition to 22 balloons, this year’s parade features 34 floats, 11 marching bands, 28 clown crews, 11 performance groups, and 28 performers, including Idina Menzel, Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue, Tiler Peck, T-Pain, and the New York Liberty! If you’re not lining the route, you can catch it all on NBC and Peacock. 

Run in a Turkey Trot in Central Park: Thursday Nov. 28th at 8 a.m.; Starts at Loeb Boathouse in Central Park; Free

Earn your stuffing! If you’re looking for a more active Thanksgiving morning, Central Park Run Club is offering a free 4-mile fun run from Loeb Boathouse on East Drive near 75th Street in Central Park, north to 102nd Street, crossing the 102nd Street transverse, and then south down West Drive, crossing the 72nd Street transverse, and finishing up where you started. This is a family and costume-friendly event, so bring your crew and your holiday spirit. Rolling pins and chef’s toques optional. It’s sponsored by Pop Up Bagels and Tal Bagels, which will be providing sustenance for runners. Run now, pie later!

All We Imagine as Light; Film at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street between Broadway & Amsterdam; in Malayalam and Hindi with English subtitles; showtimes here.

I saw this delicate two-hour film set in contemporary Mumbai recently with friends who shared my appreciation for director Payal Kapadia’s lovely drama about life’s fragility and the friendships that make its heartbreaks bearable. Last spring, “All We Imagine as Light” became the first film from India since 1994 to compete in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and it won the Grand Prix. Kapadia focuses on three women who work together at a city hospital – one’s a cook and two are nurses. They live modestly, and quietly keep their sad secrets: an arranged marriage in which the husband’s been AWOL for years; a forbidden love from the wrong faith; a widow on the verge of losing her home. It’s told in a dreamy mise en scène, and rather than generating pity Kapadia leans into lyricism. 

Local Holiday Shopping! 

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the traditional kick-off to the holiday shopping season. We’re all inundated with online offers of bargains and exclusives, but why not give local shops some love? Add your favorite in the comments please! I’ll be hitting up Book Culture on West 112th Street for the readers on my list, bocNYC on Columbus near 80th for fashionable friends, Mondel Chocolates on Broadway near 114th for sweet-toothed family members, and Plant Shed for my plant peeps! I host an annual cookie swap and do my party prep at UWS-fixture Bob Fendell’s University Hardware & Housewares on Broadway between 113th and 114th streets.

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