What was your first
thought when the United States first announced the lockdown? Don’t lie because
we all assumed that it will all be over by the end of the summer. Nobody had
imagined that this virus would extend its stay till the holiday season. Our hopes
and desires to restore normalcy back into our lives remain a wish, and quite
farfetched because the number of coronavirus cases has reached a critical
stage.
But let’s try to not
think about this for a day and get in the spirits of Thanksgiving! And to help
us with that, the announcement of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has been made!
MACY’S
THANKSGIVING PARADE 2020
Mayor Bill de Blasio
has confirmed the schedule of the 94th annual parade. However,
things are going to be scheduled slightly differently. Yes, we know that people
might feel skeptical stepping out of the house to join and celebrate in the
parade (and it’s a good thing) but the organizers have established ground rules
which will keep the fun alive while maintaining the SOPs. How is that going to
happen? Well, here’s how the parade will be different this year.
Blasio said that in
order to adjust with the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be reinvented. But
how different, right? Well, you need to imagine no crowds and smaller
performances. According to the event organizers, the event will for
television-audience only. Yes, there will be giant character balloons and
street performers, and our beloved Santa Claus. And instead of starting the
parade from uptown Manhattan and ending it in Midtown, plans is to stage it at
the Macy’s flagship in Herald Square.
Well, the 94th
Annual Thanksgiving Parade will air on NBC on the 26th of November
between 9am and 12 pm. EST. You also have the liberty of watching the show live
in NBC feed. In addition, you’re from New York City, you can also watch the
event in-person. But again, it’s best if you stay at home and enjoy it from a
safe distance.
Anyway
here’s what we know so far.
According to the event
organizers, there will be lots of balloons floating around in the air. There’s
also going to be Santa Claus and the Broadway and all the other beautiful
elements that we’ve loved seeing in the past. However, since people are going to
be maintaining social distancing, you might see slight alterations, but overall
the plan will be as usual.
Apart from the
traditional balloons, there are several grand performances planned to entertain
the viewers. You will get to see Dolly Parton in her best avatar, Pati LaBelle,
Jordin Sparks, Leslie Odom Jr. and others are all prepared and jammed up to
perform their hearts out. It’s been so long since we’ve seen a live performance
at such a big stage.
We also got to find out
that incredible dancers from the New York City Ballet will be seen along with
the talented cast of Broadway shows, like Hamilton, Jagged Little Pill, Ain’t
Too Proud, and Mean Girls will be performing, giving major feels because this
will be the first time they’d perform ever since the shutdown in March.
The organizers have
announced that strict actions will be taken against people who won’t follow the
safety precautions backstage. Hence, there will be stringent call times, social
distancing, wellness checks, and mask-wearing adherence. Last year, at the
parade there were somewhere between 8000 and 1000 performers, staff, and
balloon handlers. However, this year, there’s been a major cut.
Thereby, you’ll find a
70% cut and only 2000 people will be available on site for the two days. In
addition, it has been revealed that while some of the segments will be filmed
prior to the show, most performances will be live.
Another interesting
change that will be seen is that no one below the age of 18 will be seen on the
show. Therefore, you won’t find previously-selecting marching bands from high
school and colleges. On top of that, only professional marching bands will be seen
on the stage. The change in the ensemble was announced by the organizers.
The parade is all set
to having character balloons, but again, there will be slight alterations. So
instead of having 80 to 100 trained handlers on board, this year, the balloons
will be anchored by five especially-designed vehicles.
Last year, there were
several new attractions for the on-lookers. For example, there were
48-feet-tall Boos Baby inflatables along with Red Titan from Ryan’s World – a
YouTube series. This year will not let you down either. Hence, you can expect
to see giant animated legends like Tom and Jerry (who’re all set to return to
the silver screen in the coming year) and the giant balloon of Christmas in
Town Square which just released on Netflix!
We’ve seen Macy’s
Thanksgiving parade throughout our lives. It continues to return year after
year not because it’s fashionable but because its tradition. And how can we say
no to tradition in a year that’s been emotionally tiring for all of us. This
event it about celebrating American history and just giving back to the
citizens of the country. People all over the world have shown such resilience
during this testing times, and since the fight is not over yet, Macy’s Parade
is returning to uplift our spirits and get us moving.
It’s also been revealed
that not public will be allowed to watch the balloon inflation event on
Wednesday night. It’s to protect their health and maintain the SOPs determined
by the government.
Finally, this year, to
ensure safety, all out-of-town performers have been rejected. They’ve been
deferred to next year so that they don’t feel demotivated and left out.
Watch Macy’s
Thanksgiving Parade on NBC with us live!
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