Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Big balloons, wet weather and 21 protesters arrested

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New York City police said they arrested 21 people after protesters jumped barricades and sat down on the parade route with Palestinian flags and a “Don’t Celebrate Genocide” banner.

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate on Sixth Avenue during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, in New York. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

By Associated Press

November 29, 2024 | 8:59 AM

NEW YORK (AP) — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade marched, soared and roared into its second century on Thursday despite a drenching rain and a brief disruption from pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

New York City police said they arrested 21 people after protesters jumped barricades and sat down on the parade route with Palestinian flags and a “Don’t Celebrate Genocide” banner. They chanted “Free, free Palestine!” as a giant Ronald McDonald balloon bore down on them on Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue.

People protesting Israel’s war in Gaza also interrupted last year’s parade.

Thanks to the wet weather, ponchos and umbrellas were part of the festivities, along with the usual giant balloons, floats and star-studded performances.

The latest edition of the annual holiday tradition featured new Spider-Man and Minnie Mouse balloons, zoo and pasta-themed floats, an ode to Big Apple coffee and bagels, performances from Jennifer Hudson, Idina Menzel and Kylie Minogue, and more.

The lineup was a far cry from the parade’s initial incarnation 100 years ago, which featured floats showing scenes from Mother Goose, Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Miss Muffet and the Spider, and other fairy tales.

The Stuart the Minion balloon floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, in New York. – Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Some things remained the same, though. As in 1924, there were plenty of marching bands and lots of clowns, followed by the grand finale of Santa Claus ushering in the holiday season.

This year’s parade featured 17 giant, helium-filled character balloons, 22 floats, 15 novelty and heritage inflatables, 11 marching bands from as far away as Texas and South Dakota, 700 clowns, 10 performance groups, award-winning singers and actors, and the WNBA champion New York Liberty.

Other highlights included reality TV star Ariana Madix, hip-hop’s T-Pain, country duo Dan + Shay, The War and Treaty, … Read More