New route for Macys parade

The Record (Bergen County, NJ) November 24, 2009

The Record (Bergen County, NJ) 11-24-2009 New route for Macys parade Date: 11-24-2009, Tuesday Section: NEWS Column: DID YOU KNOW For the first time since it stepped off in 1924, the Macys Thanksgiving Parade will not march along Broadway. Organizers had to find a new route when Broadway became a pedestrian zone, which prohibits floats and other vehicles. see here macys printable coupons

First called the Macys Christmas Parade, the extravaganza started on 145th Street and made its way six miles down to Herald Square. For the first few years, animals from the Central Park Zoo were featured.

By 1927, Macys volunteers towed the first helium-filled balloons, which included Felix the Cat and were released at the end of the parade. They burst on the sharp edges of the New York skyline, so they were made stronger the following year.

Since then, colossal replicas of cartoon and action characters have floated through skyscrapers, annually delighting 3 million spectators lining the streets.

A new sailor Mickey Mouse will appear this year, 75 years after his debut.

Floats were introduced in 1969 and are still made in a former Tootsie Roll factory in Hoboken. The floats, which can be up to 40 feet tall, fold up for the trip through the Holland Tunnel on Wednesday evening and are reassembled during the night on the Manhattan side. go to website macys printable coupons

The parade route was shortened in 1946 the first year it was televised locally to the popular Broadway path. It went on national television the following year and has since built an audience of 44 million viewers.

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