The turkey day tradition will be a little different this year.
BY NOAH KAUFMAN
Thanksgiving is going to be different for Americans this year. Restrictions on indoor gatherings in states across the country mean that family gatherings may get pushed off until later in the spring, when it seems a vaccine could have wider distribution. Even if Thanksgiving Day is celebrated mostly via Zoom, there is one annual tradition that we can enjoy from the safety and comfort of our own homes.
In its 94th year, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2020 has been fully reimagined for the pandemic. It will still happen, but for a TV-only audience, through the streets of New York City and in pre-taped segments featuring big names giving the sorts of festive performances we’ve come to expect.“We’re excited to do what we always do,” parade executive producer Susan Tercero said in a press conference about the new format. “We want to deliver a gift to New Yorkers and the whole country on Thanksgiving morning.” Here’s what you can expect.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2020 lineup
NBC’s Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will host the broadcast, and, in a bit of good news, so will Al Roker, who announced in November that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. “We’re hopeful that Al will be in his typical rare form on parade day,” Kotb said in the press conference. “He’s going through a difficult time, but as I told him, it’s never ‘you got this, it’s we got this.” As for the parade itself, it will feature 18 balloons from Snoopy to Sponge Bob reaching almost 50 feet high, 35 floats (including five new ones), and music from close to two dozen performers including Dolly Parton and Patti LaBelle.
What will be different about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
In a break with tradition in the interest of safety, the parade is being produced exclusively for screens this year. Some musical performances will be recorded ahead of time and there will be no public viewing during balloon inflation and staging, or places to gather and watch. Organizers also deferred participation from the regular cadre of marching bands that travel in from around the country. In their place, the parade will honor the city and all the challenges it’s endured this year by including groups from many of the festive parades New York had to cancel in 2020, like the Puerto Rican Day Parade and Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, to fill those slots. COVID protocols in place throughout New York will be in effect as well: All participants will wear masks and maintain a safe distance (instead of large numbers of handlers, utility vehicles will help move the balloons to keep people apart), and the total number of participants will be cut by 75 percent.
Where does the Macy’s Parade go?
Ordinarily the parade goes on for 2.5 miles, along the west side of Central Park, through Columbus Circle and down 6th Avenue to the Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square. This year, there will not be a march through the streets, and while there will still be balloons and floats, none of the staging areas are being made public for security reasons and to help prevent large gatherings of people. No areas will be open for live viewing.
How can I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Seeing the parade this year will be exclusively a TV and streaming operation. You can watch on NBC from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, November 26, in all time zones. The parade will also be simulcast in Spanish on Telemundo and streamed anywhere NBC is available live like Hulu. It will also be streamed in partnership with Verizon on the wireless company’s Twitter and YouTube accounts.
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SOURCE: https://www.cntraveler.com/
