NEW YORK -- Giant balloons, balmy weather and enthusiastic crowds proved a perfect recipe as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade flowed through the streets of Manhattan.
The Associated Press
The Scooby Doo balloon floats down Broadway during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York, Thursday.
The Scooby Doo balloon floats down Broadway during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York, Thursday.
"My 5-year-old and the beautiful weather" prompted Dorothea Geiger, 38, of Freeport, N.Y., to join the throng of onlookers at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue, where little Lauren ticked off a list of her favorite parade characters, topped by Dora the Explorer, Shrek and Scooby Doo.
"And we're going to see Santa. Did you know that?" Geiger told Lauren, eliciting a squeal.
The parade, held on a sunny morning with a temperature nearing 60 degrees, offered a mix of new attractions and longtime favorites, solemn tributes and lighthearted spectacle.
Carrying banners and flags, parade participants gathered early on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
The lineup included three new balloons, 2,000 cheerleaders, 800 clowns, the Radio City Rockettes and 11 marching bands — among them the Virginia Tech Regimental Band, playing in honor of the victims of last spring's campus shooting.
"The whole experience is special," said Rich Piasio of Wilmington, N.C. He and his wife wore Virginia Tech sweatshirts as they eagerly awaited the band.
"It's kind of nice after what they went through," said Linda Piasio, a native of Blacksburg, Va., where the school is located.
The 81st annual parade started with a Michael Feinstein tune especially written for 600 kids from around the nation, whose opening number was choreographed by John Dietrich of the Rockettes.
The festivities began Wednesday evening, when workers inflated 11 giant helium balloons, including the new ones: William Steig's swamp-loving ogre Shrek, Sesame Street's fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby and Hello Kitty Supercute, the cape- and tiara-wearing feline superhero.
The parade also marks one of two opportunities a year for Broadway to strut its stuff on national television. But for the cast of "Legally Blonde," the parade is a showcase without a show.
The musical is one of more than two dozen productions shuttered by a Broadway stagehands strike. Its cast was set to appear in Thursday's parade, but the costumes and props were locked behind the stagehands' picket lines.
Four Broadway shows nabbed coveted positions in the parade. Along with the Tony Awards, it provides a yearly TV spotlight for the Great White Way.
But because of the stagehands' contract dispute with the League of American Theatres and Producers, cast members of "Legally Blonde" weren't able to use their costumes and props while performing the show's "What You Want."
"We're going to have a national spot on television, and we're going to be half represented," said Jerry Mitchell, the show's director and choreographer. "We're going to be the only musical performing without our props and costumes, which I find very disheartening."
The actors plan to use replacements, which most spectators likely wouldn't notice, since the lead role involves a law student who loves to wear pink.
The "Legally Blonde" performers didn't cross picket lines by marching. A spokeswoman for their union, Actors' Equity, said anyone appearing in the parade falls under a TV contract with AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and thus is exempt from the work stoppage.
The other three Broadway productions featured in the parade — "Mary Poppins," ''Young Frankenstein" and "Xanadu" — are not on strike.
Half of the 10,000 marchers were Macy's employees. The route winds from Central Park West to Herald Square, in front of Macy's flagship store.
"And we're going to see Santa. Did you know that?" Geiger told Lauren, eliciting a squeal.
The parade, held on a sunny morning with a temperature nearing 60 degrees, offered a mix of new attractions and longtime favorites, solemn tributes and lighthearted spectacle.
Carrying banners and flags, parade participants gathered early on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
The lineup included three new balloons, 2,000 cheerleaders, 800 clowns, the Radio City Rockettes and 11 marching bands — among them the Virginia Tech Regimental Band, playing in honor of the victims of last spring's campus shooting.
"The whole experience is special," said Rich Piasio of Wilmington, N.C. He and his wife wore Virginia Tech sweatshirts as they eagerly awaited the band.
"It's kind of nice after what they went through," said Linda Piasio, a native of Blacksburg, Va., where the school is located.
The 81st annual parade started with a Michael Feinstein tune especially written for 600 kids from around the nation, whose opening number was choreographed by John Dietrich of the Rockettes.
The festivities began Wednesday evening, when workers inflated 11 giant helium balloons, including the new ones: William Steig's swamp-loving ogre Shrek, Sesame Street's fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby and Hello Kitty Supercute, the cape- and tiara-wearing feline superhero.
The parade also marks one of two opportunities a year for Broadway to strut its stuff on national television. But for the cast of "Legally Blonde," the parade is a showcase without a show.
The musical is one of more than two dozen productions shuttered by a Broadway stagehands strike. Its cast was set to appear in Thursday's parade, but the costumes and props were locked behind the stagehands' picket lines.
Four Broadway shows nabbed coveted positions in the parade. Along with the Tony Awards, it provides a yearly TV spotlight for the Great White Way.
But because of the stagehands' contract dispute with the League of American Theatres and Producers, cast members of "Legally Blonde" weren't able to use their costumes and props while performing the show's "What You Want."
"We're going to have a national spot on television, and we're going to be half represented," said Jerry Mitchell, the show's director and choreographer. "We're going to be the only musical performing without our props and costumes, which I find very disheartening."
The actors plan to use replacements, which most spectators likely wouldn't notice, since the lead role involves a law student who loves to wear pink.
The "Legally Blonde" performers didn't cross picket lines by marching. A spokeswoman for their union, Actors' Equity, said anyone appearing in the parade falls under a TV contract with AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and thus is exempt from the work stoppage.
The other three Broadway productions featured in the parade — "Mary Poppins," ''Young Frankenstein" and "Xanadu" — are not on strike.
Half of the 10,000 marchers were Macy's employees. The route winds from Central Park West to Herald Square, in front of Macy's flagship store.
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