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.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York is a tradition for people around the United States. There will be 100,000′s attending or watching it on television and is a favorite for kids of all ages.

For this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2013, we welcome new balloon characters to the roster for 2013. See a newly made-over Sponge-Bob Square Pants, the Wizard of Oz, Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon, Finn & Jake and Chippey as they prepare to march down midtown Manhattan to Macy’s on 34th St. It’s a sight to see each year as these animated friends come to life next to the Museum of Natural History.

Inflating of the 87th Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons:
Balloon Inflation Details: November 27, 2013 from 3pm-10pm. The balloons begin to come to life around 4:30-5pm and the last admission to the balloon inflation area is at 9:15pm.

2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Balloons:
Hello Kitty, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Julius, Spiderman, Ronald McDonald, Pillsbury Doughboy, Pikachu, Buzz Light Year, Sonic the Hedgehog, Wizard of Oz, Papa Smurf, Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon, Finn & Jake, Chippey, Snoopy & Woodstock and SpongeBob Square Pants. And the Balloonicles: Kool-Aid Man, Aflac Duck and the Spinning Dreidel

30 Floats: Zhu-Niverse, Smurf Mushroom Float, Big Apple, Bridge To The Future, Doras’ Christmas Carol Adventure, Tom Turkey, 1-2-3 Sesame Street, Mount Rushmore’s American Pride and more!

Musical performances from some of Broadway’s best shows including: Matilda, Motown the Musical and Carrie Underwood and the cast of NBC’s The Sound of Music Live and the world-famous Radio City Rockettes.

Keep An Eye Out For Your Favorite Celebrities:
Big Apple Circus, Kristin Chenoweth, Chica and the gang from Sprout, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Fall Out Boy, Cher Lloyd, Richard Simmons, Cirque du Soleil, Gavin DeGraw, Brett Eldridge, Goo Goo Dolls, Megan Hilty, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Duck Dynasty, NFL legends Joe Namath, Bart Oates, Amani Toomer and Hines Ward, NHL legends Cam Neely and Mike Richter, Kellie Pickler, Fifth Harmony, Jack Hannah, Sandra Lee, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and more!
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2013 Route:
The 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)

Sustained winds on Thursday are forecast to reach 15 to 20 mph, with gusts between 30 and 40 mph; The limits for letting balloons fly is 23 mph winds and gusts of 34 mph -- rules set by a commission in 1998 after a serious accident amid high winds the year before.

These conditions could ground the high-flying balloons of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which can't fly in certain conditions.

A Macy's spokesman said Monday that organizers will look at "real-time" conditions, not forecasts, and that a decision would be made on Thursday morning. Organizers have closely eyed the parade forecast, especially predictions for wind, after accidents over the years

Catch the Tony-winning revival of Pippin on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Tony winner Patina Miller, (Commander Paylor in Mockingjay) and the cast will perform “Corner of the Sky” and “Magic to Do” from the hit Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson musical.

New York's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is seeing quite the squabble as Joan Jett has been ousted from the parade's South Dakota float due to her vegetarian lifestyle, CNN reports.

According to the website, Jett's no-meat ways and involvement in the People for the Ethic Treatment of Animals group -- which "condemns factory farms and ranches" -- was enough for ranchers to protest her appearance on the float. Jett is also an outspoken PETA activist and has even recorded vegetarian testimonial PSAs for the group.
"I've decided to switch from South Dakota to another float because people's political agendas were getting in the way of what should be a purely entertainment driven event," Jett said in a statement Saturday. "I will remain focused on entertaining the millions of people watching, who will be celebrating a great American tradition."

Instead of representing the state that is "so heavily reliant on agriculture and livestock production," according to Jodie Anderson of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, Jett will be moved to a different float.

From: huffingtonpost.com

This year, Lindt USA will  join the lineup of floats in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year's floats were unveiled at a preview event this week at the Macy's Parade Studio in Moonachie, N.J.

Lindt's float features a chocolate shop theme, with a three-story-tall Lindt Master Chocolatier puppeteer figure pulling strings to orchestrate the pouring and casting of Lindt Bear and other chocolate figures for the holidays, making the puppets and spoons work in tandem.

The 87th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air nationwide on NBC-TV, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., in all time zones.

Following cancer treatment and recovery time, Sharon Jones is back in action. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings will be performing in NYC on a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which begins at 9 AM at CPW/77th St and finishes in Herald Square at noon. For those who don't live here (and those who do and don't go to the parade [most of us]), you can watch live coverage on NBC.
Her new album, Give the People What They Want is out January 14 on Daptone. Her previously-announced Beacon Theater show on February 6, to which there are still tickets, will be the start of a just-announced full two-month North American tour.

A test run for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was under way at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, N.J. Saturday.

Hundreds of volunteers gathered in a parking lot to practice handling one of the five new balloons at the parade.
People at the Saturday rehearsal got to see the new look for the parade’s oldest star – Charles M’ Schulz’s Snoopy. Designers have created a new Snoopy balloon featuring Woodstock riding on Snoopy’s head.
Also making their debut this year are Finn and Jake of “Adventure Time” fame, “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and Toothless from “How to Train Your Dragon.”

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

As tradition would have it, your favorite artists have signed on to perform at the 87th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Songbird Ariana Grande will be hitting the scene, joining Fall Out Boy, Fifth Harmony and the cast of “Motown: The Musical.”

Doug Vaughan, Executive Vice President of Special Programs and Late Night for NBC Entertainment, said the celebration is a festive highlight for millions of families.

“We are thrilled to once again broadcast this national celebration to kick off the holiday season.”

Carrie Underwood, Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Kellie Pickler, and The Robertson family from A&E’s Duck Dynasty will all be part of this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The first hour of the national broadcast will feature an appearance from Carrie Underwood and members of the cast of NBC’s The Sound of Music Live!.

Also joining the festivities this year are the Big Apple Circus, Kristin Chenoweth, Cherokee National Youth Choir, Chica and the gang from Sprout, Cirque du Soleil(R), Gavin DeGraw, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots with thecast of Sesame Street, Fifth Harmony, Goo Goo Dolls, Ariana Grande, Jack Hannah, Megan Hilty, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, Sandra Lee, Cher Lloyd, Austin Mahone, Mannheim Steamroller, Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri, NFL legends Bart Oates, Amani Toomer and Hines Ward, NHL legends Cam Neely and Mike Richter, Debby Ryan, Richard Simmons, and The Summer Set.

Enhancing the Parade’s signature entertainment will be the Radio City Rockettes(R) helping to kick-off the holidays, along with performances from Broadway’s best musicals including Matilda, Motown: The Musical, and more.

This year the line-up features 15 giant character balloons; 37 large scale novelty/ornament balloons, balloonicles, balloonheads and trycaloons; 30 floats; 1,600 cheerleaders and dancers; 900 clowns; 11 marching bands; and a host of celebrity performers.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade begins Thursday, Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. (all time zones).

From: musicrow.com

Carrie Underwood, Fall Out Boy and Ariana Grande will be among the performers during the 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They’ll be joined by Gavin DeGraw, Fifth Harmony, Austin Mahone, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Florida Georgia Line.

Cher Lloyd, Kellie Pickler, Megan Hilty, Kristin Chenoweth and Joan Jett will also make appearances, alongside Jimmy Fallon and The Roots with the cast of “Sesame Street.”

Underwood will be accompanied by her co-stars from the upcoming live production of The Sound of Music.

The cast of “Duck Dynasty” will also take part. New balloons for 2013 will include SpongeBob SquarePants, Snoopy with Woodstock, and portraits from The Wizard of Oz in honor of the classic movie’s 75th anniversary.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea, except when he’s floating in the sky high above New York City?

That’d be this 44-feet-tall, 41-feet-long, 34-feet-wide SpongeBob SquarePants balloon, which will make its debut at the 87th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Nov. 28. Nine years after SpongeBob first appeared at the parade, the flying sea-dweller will enjoy a new holiday-themed look — though his fundamental SpongeBob-iness remains intact.

“It’s not very often that the term ‘square and ‘balloon’ are used together, but for nearly a decade the SpongeBob SquarePants balloon has been one of the many highlights of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” said Amy Kule, Executive Producer of the yearly special, in a statement. “With his animated persona and super-sized Santa hat, this second iteration of this irascible character will float down the Parade route to the continued delight of the millions of fans lining the streets of New York and the many millions more watching on television across the country. This Thanksgiving, SpongeBob once again takes his rightful position squarely in the sky.”

In 2004, the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants Balloon made its inaugural appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to the delight of kids and adults alike. Based on the most-watched animated kids' show on TV, this year's newest SpongeBob balloon will stand at 44-feet tall, 41-feet long and 34-feet wide as it struts down New York's most famous parade route.

Since its launch in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon.  The series has been the most-watched animated program with kids 2-11 for more than 12 consecutive years, and over the past several years, it has averaged more than 100,000,000 total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks.  As the most widely distributed property in Viacom history, SpongeBob is seen in over 170 countries and translated in more than 35 languages. The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurable optimist and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends.

Source: Nickelodeon

Five Warren County students will be among hundreds of jump ropers from across the county in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Some of the Jumpin'Jaguars will have to jump rope while walking for three straight hours during the parade, and as you'd probably expect, it takes plenty practice and conditioning to accomplish such a task!

"We've been jumping down Campbell lane, and we've been running in races," said Jumping Jaguar Rachel Yarano.

"We've been preparing for three months now, and two hours everyday," said Jumping Jaguar Kaelin Odil.

The Jumpin' Jaguars will be jumping rope from 6p.m. to 8p.m. Friday at the Greenwood Mall in front of Macy's. Macy's will be raffling fragrances, and the group will be taking donations to raise funds for their trip to new york for the parade.

Source: wbko.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

Get a preview of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade the day before, with an expedition to see the balloons come to life. A tradition since 1927, the giant balloons—featuring beloved pop culture characters—are slowly inflated in the streets around the American Museum of Natural History, at Columbus Avenue and West 77th Street. Nets and sandbags are used to keep them from escaping during the night.

Balloon Inflation Details: November 27, 2013 from 3pm-10pm. The balloons begin to come to life around 4:30-5pm and the last admission to the balloon inflation area is at 9:15pm.

Here is the details and more information for the Macy's Balloon Inflation Area:

Now available from Macy's is the 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Tote Bag.

Description from the site:
It only comes once a year! Bursting with all the familiar sights and official balloons of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, this whimsical 2013 tote bag celebrates a cherished holiday tradition.
- Cotton canvas
- Spot clean only
- Imported
- Dimensions: 16" x 15" x 5.75"
- Shoulder strap with 11" drop