NEW YORK --"Party" was the prevailing atmosphere as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade wound through Manhattan with giant balloons, thousands of marchers and throngs of holiday revelers.
Kids shrieked and threw confetti, and onlookers danced as the first marching band stepped off and headed down Broadway.
Parade celebrities include Miley Cyrus. "She's just the coolest!" said 6-year-old Isabella Muccio.
Quincy Kersbergen of Wyckoff, N.J., found a prime viewing spot — perched on a police barricade — and proclaimed herself a big fan of a giant dog balloon.
"This is just fantastic!" said the 11-year-old. "So amazing to be here in person! I'm just so excited about today!"
More than a million spectators were expected to view the 82nd annual parade in person, with another 50 million watching on television. The 2.5-mile route winds from Central Park West and West 77th Street to Herald Square, in front of Macy's flagship store.
New to the revelry this year were Buzz Lightyear, the square-jawed, action-figure astronaut made famous by the 1995 film "Toy Story," Horton, the compassionate elephant of Dr. Seuss books, and a Smurf balloon. The bright blue, gnome-like Smurfs first appeared in a Belgian comics magazine in 1958. They were popularized by a U.S. television series that began in 1981. Old favorites like Kermit are also back.
Nicole Mack of the Bronx arrived at 4:30 a.m. to get a prime spot for her children, ages 5 and 10. "They were very determined to be here," she said. "They're still smiling and happy, so I'm happy."
An inflated Keith Haring artwork joined dozens of other balloons, 28 floats and 10 marching bands in Thursday's spectacle. Other celebrities included Trace Adkins, James Taylor and the Radio City Rockettes.
The temperature was around 41 degrees and the sky was sunny. The wind was around 7 mph, well below city guidelines for grounding the balloons. The protocols were established after 45 mph winds drove a Cat in the Hat balloon into a metal pole during the 1997 parade; the accident left a woman in a coma. The balloons were lowered to a maximum of 17 feet on a stormy Thanksgiving Day 2006.
The parade requires 200,000 to 300,000 cubic feet of helium, much of which supplier Linde North America will try to recover and recycle, said Nick Haines, the company's helium director for the Americas. Linde tested the process — sucking the gas out of the balloons, compressing it and later purifying it for resale — last year and hoped to expand it to all but the giant balloons Thursday.
The parade also provided a coveted yearly spotlight for Broadway productions. This year, cast members of "Hair," ''In the Heights," ''The Little Mermaid," ''South Pacific" and "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" were featured.
The parade began in 1924. It was canceled for two years during World War II. Macy's is marking its 150th anniversary this year.
Parade celebrities include Miley Cyrus. "She's just the coolest!" said 6-year-old Isabella Muccio.
Quincy Kersbergen of Wyckoff, N.J., found a prime viewing spot — perched on a police barricade — and proclaimed herself a big fan of a giant dog balloon.
"This is just fantastic!" said the 11-year-old. "So amazing to be here in person! I'm just so excited about today!"
More than a million spectators were expected to view the 82nd annual parade in person, with another 50 million watching on television. The 2.5-mile route winds from Central Park West and West 77th Street to Herald Square, in front of Macy's flagship store.
New to the revelry this year were Buzz Lightyear, the square-jawed, action-figure astronaut made famous by the 1995 film "Toy Story," Horton, the compassionate elephant of Dr. Seuss books, and a Smurf balloon. The bright blue, gnome-like Smurfs first appeared in a Belgian comics magazine in 1958. They were popularized by a U.S. television series that began in 1981. Old favorites like Kermit are also back.
Nicole Mack of the Bronx arrived at 4:30 a.m. to get a prime spot for her children, ages 5 and 10. "They were very determined to be here," she said. "They're still smiling and happy, so I'm happy."
An inflated Keith Haring artwork joined dozens of other balloons, 28 floats and 10 marching bands in Thursday's spectacle. Other celebrities included Trace Adkins, James Taylor and the Radio City Rockettes.
The temperature was around 41 degrees and the sky was sunny. The wind was around 7 mph, well below city guidelines for grounding the balloons. The protocols were established after 45 mph winds drove a Cat in the Hat balloon into a metal pole during the 1997 parade; the accident left a woman in a coma. The balloons were lowered to a maximum of 17 feet on a stormy Thanksgiving Day 2006.
The parade requires 200,000 to 300,000 cubic feet of helium, much of which supplier Linde North America will try to recover and recycle, said Nick Haines, the company's helium director for the Americas. Linde tested the process — sucking the gas out of the balloons, compressing it and later purifying it for resale — last year and hoped to expand it to all but the giant balloons Thursday.
The parade also provided a coveted yearly spotlight for Broadway productions. This year, cast members of "Hair," ''In the Heights," ''The Little Mermaid," ''South Pacific" and "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" were featured.
The parade began in 1924. It was canceled for two years during World War II. Macy's is marking its 150th anniversary this year.
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