We have one of the most anticipated festive parades to watch out for this year. As we prepare for the holiday seasons, we kick-it off by celebrating Thanksgiving Day. Tradition would have it that Macy's presents the 87th Thanksgiving Day Parade. Millions will surely be tuning in to see the giant balloons soar high in the streets of New York. Old favorites include Snoopy and Woodstock, Spiderman, Hello Kitty, Pikachu and more. News balloons include Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kung Fu Panda and Adventure Time.

For those who want to see the balloons come to life, the balloon inflation is available for public viewing on November 27, 2013 from 3pm-10pm.

The 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade begins at 77th and Central Park West to Columbus Circle, Across Central Park South (59th St) to 6th Ave and down to Macy’s Herald Square and 34th St. Parade kicks off at 9am until 12noon (as the parade moves on further downtown). Be ready to see the festivities live and streaming from your favorite TV channels.

Each year, top marching bands of all varieties from across the country are invited to represent their states in the annual parade. Watch out for Macy's Great American Marching Band as they return to the parade route this November with more than 250 participants representing all 50 states.

• NYPD Marching Band, New York

• Macys Great American Marching Band

• University of Massachusetts Amherst Minuteman Marching Band

• Ooltewah High School Band

• Trapon Springs Hish School Outdoor Performance Ensemble

• US Marine Corps Quantico Band

• Union High School Renegade Regiment

• Lakota West High School Marching Firebirds

• Marian Catholic High School

• Concord Community High School Marching Minutemen

• James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes

• Mountain View High School Toro Marching Band

Four members of the Comet Skippers will be featured in the 87th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade when it steps off Nov. 28 in New York City.

Joining more than 200 jump rope athletes from across the country will be local jumpers Joci Hinners, Kevin Morrissey, Sean Newport and Singyi Yen.

Organized by the Heartbeats Jump Rope Team in Cleveland, the group will appear under the acronym J.U.M.P. (Jumpers United for Macy’s Parade).

These athletes will showcase their talent alongside giant character balloons, celebrities, floats, marching bands, performance groups, and clowns. This will be the second time in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as 140 jumpers, ages 12-24, from teams across the country appeared in the 2009 Parade.

When the jumpers will arrive in the Big Apple on Nov. 26, it will mark the first time all 200 jumpers are together. Jumpers will be performing many tricks and skills in unison as they jump their way along the parade route to the delight of New Yorkers who line the streets 20 deep and fill windows and balconies along the streets overhead.

After arriving in at the fabled Herald Square, the group will be featured in a live one-minute segment broadcast on NBC national television with an estimated 50 million viewers. This choreographed TV routine, built around a group of 72 athletes performing a complex inter-connected matrix of jumpers, will include Joci, Kevin, Sean and Singyi.

The local athletes have been practicing for months under the direction of coaches Mike and Carmen Simpson.

From: www.todayspulse.com

For the second time, Torrington's Forbes Flyers have been selected to join a group of jump ropers from around the country and perform at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

"We did it in 2009 and it was a wonderful experience and to have us asked again and to have eight of our jumpers asked to participate is just amazing," said Janice Harrington, a physical education teacher at the Forbes School in Torrington, who has volunteered her time teaching jump rope.

The Forbes Flyers is made up of elementary, middle and high school students from Torrington. Competing students said the chance to display their talent on a national stage is very exciting.

"A lot of adrenaline," said Ali Bottari, a Torrington High School freshman. "I'm going to be crazy looking at all the people."

The Flyers are part of a much larger group that will perform on the entire two-and-a-half mile parade route. They'll end with a special one-minute performance in Herald Square that will be broadcast on NBC.

Harrington called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the kids and their families.

From: nbcconnecticut.com

MESA, AZ (CBS5) - Faculty and band members of Mesa Mountain View High School received a huge surprise Thursday morning when they found out they were chosen to participate in Macy's 2013 Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Students hugged and cheered at the secretly planned ceremony, reveling in the moment that their school was only 1 of 11 chosen nationwide to display their talents in the highly attended and massively popular holiday television spectacle. The Toro marching band will help kick off the internationally iconic event, that yearly marks the start of the holiday season.

More than 3.5 million spectators are expected to attend with more than 50 million viewers worldwide.

From: kpho.com