A New Yorker’s Guide To Watching The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

This November, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which originated in 1924, will continue its magical tradition of entertaining the 3.5 million spectators lining the streets of Manhattan. On November 24^th, at 9 am, the event will officially kick off the holiday season with its iconic character balloons, dazzling floats, the nation’s best marching bands, and fun celebrity appearances.

Where To Watch:

There is 2.5 miles of public viewing spots along the parade route, which starts off at 77^th Street and Central Park West (no/limited public viewing here). The procession will march to Columbus Circle, turn onto Central Park South and march down 6^th Avenue to 34^th Street. At 34^th Street, the parade will make its final turn west and end at 7^th Avenue in front of Macy’s Herald Square (no/limited public viewing here).

The early risers can start camping out at 6 am on the west side of Central Park West between 59^th and 75^th street. Avoid watching the parade on 6^th Avenue between 34^th and 38^th street, as this is the official broadcast area.

If you would like to book a room at a hotel with a view of the parade, you may want to check out these hotels which currently have promotions: Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square, JW Marriott Essex House New York, and New York Hilton Midtown.

Grandstand tickets are not for sale to the general public. They are reserved for the family and friends of Macy’s employees and parade participants.

Tip: The area in and around Columbus circle will have great views. The shops at Columbus Circle will be open; it will be crowded so plan ahead.

The Night Before:

If you fancy watching the inflation of the iconic balloons, you may want to be in the vicinity of Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Thanksgiving Eve (November 23^rd). The public entrance to the Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation is located at 79th Street and Columbus Avenue.

Tip: Take public transportation to get here. If you are taking the subway, take the B or C and get off at the 81^st street/Museum of Natural History station.

Parade route, Photo: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Line Up:

Joining the festivities this year are: American soul singer Aloe Blacc, Long Island hip-hop group De La Soul, Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan, and the legendary Tony Bennett. NHL legends Adam Graves and Eric Lindros, and U.S. Olympic Gold Medalists Michelle Carter and Laurie Hernandez will also be participating in the star-studded event.

In the balloon line up, there will be a new “Trolls” balloon, inspired by the characters of DreamWorks’ animated movie Trolls. Some popular giant balloon characters that are returning: Angry Bird’s Red, Hello Kitty, Paddington, and Thomas the Tank Engine.

Parade Fun Facts:

– The delightful Muppets will be kicking off the parade celebrations with a signature musical number!
– The parade will feature 16 giant character balloons, 27 novelty/ornament balloons, 26 floats, 1,100 cheerleaders and dancers, more than 1,000 clowns, and 16 marching bands and performance groups!
– The parade’s first balloon star from the 1920’s, Felix the Cat, is also making a comeback. Felix will make his way down the route as he first appeared in 1927, carried on sticks!
– A Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Stickers app is available for free from the iTunes App Store or from Google Play. Enjoy the emoji keyboard to text Thanksgiving-themed balloons and characters!

The parade will be broadcast live on NBC from 9 am – noon (all time-zones) and will be hosted by Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, and Al Roker. 50 million viewers are expected to tune in to enjoy the spectacle!

For more information on the parade, visit macys.com/parade or call the parade hotline at 212-494-4495. For the latest parade info, follow @macys on Twitter and join the conversation at #MacysParade on various social networks.

New York Society of Play Summer Camp and Classes

Summer Game Camp There are many who do not feel safe sending their children back out into the world with summer camp, this year. To serve those parents and keep the children connected and stimulated during this challenging time, we are offering NYSP Digital Summer Camp. The name of the game with NYSP Summer Camp is community. We have made a large effort to make our camp feel like a living space, with features including &ndash; - Role-Playing games familiar and new, led by our master storytellers! - Enriching electives such as Chess, World Building, Character Acting, Crafts, Drawing, and more! - Discussion and media screening rooms during lunch! - A digital campus! - Moderated chat hours! &nbsp; Join us for a summer of games, friends, and more! Mon - Fri 10am - 2:30pm &nbsp; Roleplay Expeditions: Dungeons &amp; Dragons No experience is required to join one of our Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our game masters have pre-made character sheets, so you'll be able to start playing the game right away! We adapt the rules of traditional Dungeons &amp; Dragons to make them more approachable to children of various ages. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop!&nbsp; &nbsp; Public games meet once per week, with different groups every time. Private games meet 1 to 2 times per week with the same group of kids. Since the players and the storyteller in the group are consistent, this enables us to tell epic tales of adventure together! &nbsp; Dungeons &amp; Dragons Junior No experience is required to join one of our drop-in Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our Dungeons &amp; Dragons Jr. game provides a D&amp;D storytelling experience without character sheets. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop! A great way to introduce young children to D&amp;D so they can eventually move onto the main game.

Bounce! Family Entertainment Center

Bounce! Family Entertainment Center is an indoor birthday party and play space located in Syosset, NY. Perfect for birthday parties, group events, open play, and more! We have the best party packages on Long Island! Our facility has multiple AWESOME attractions: The Trampoline courts, The Adventure Zone, Bumper Cars, Laser Tag, Soft Play, Arcade, &amp; MORE! If you need a break from jumping and climbing, try out some of our delicious food from The Bounce Bites Kitchen! Come on in to any of our Open Play, Toddler Time, or Glow Night sessions!

Child's Play NY Virtual Classes

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Child's Play NY is a Brooklyn-based company founded in 2009, committed to offering a diverse array of theater arts classes for children. They believe studying the art of acting encourages kids to be even more creative, collaborative and compassionate human beings. Since its inception, Child's Play NY has touched the lives of hundreds of students, worked inside dozens of schools and is consistently ranked as among the top theater arts programs. It is the 2019 winner of Brooklyn Family's Choice award for Best Performing Arts Class. &nbsp; <span style="color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fall/Winter 2020-21 Virtual Class Guide<span style="color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Movie Class <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Experience creative fulfillment and movie magic with Child&rsquo;s Play NY! Kids get to make and star in their own film, with professional actors, directors and designers. From development to design to editing choices too, kids can take ownership over the creative process. Their friends and family get to celebrate their accomplishments at a final watch party premiere! Deep project-based learning and peer-connection is at the heart of this 9-week experience which can be done remotely or in-person. &nbsp; <span style="color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fall and Winter Virtual Classes &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hogwarts School (grades 1-3): Come get sorted into your favorite house, jump on your Firebolt and let&rsquo;s make some magic! Class culminates in a movie montage featuring our original scripted work from the session. &nbsp; &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Create Your Own Class <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make your own custom group to support social-emotional growth and play. Child&rsquo;s Play NY provides a dynamic teacher and their lauded curriculum that puts peer-interaction at the front and center. Custom classes are a special way to nurture what your child loves most and share that excitement with their friends, in-person or online. &nbsp; <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Playwriting (Grades 4-6)</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Students will use their creativity, compassion and confidence to build a story they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. Individually, each student will craft a play, and together they will workshop their scenes, exercising their acting, directing, and most importantly, imagination skills. Over the course of the sessions, students will learn the basics of playwriting and be able to present any and all parts of their theatrical story. All classes will include individual assignments and collaborative opportunities. Each day will be structured so that all participants have the chance to learn and study other writers&rsquo; work, write for 10-15 minutes and share their words with each other. By the end of the semester they will have used their bodies, intellect and imagination to come up with an original play. By being confident, vulnerable and creative with each other and actively supporting and encouraging each other&rsquo;s work, students will emerge with meaningful connections to each other and a strong sense of their writing and collaborative abilities. Class culminates in a montage and packet of students&rsquo; original work. </div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Musical Theater Lab (Grades 4-6)</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learn how to be a triple threat in this dynamic class for budding performers with Child&rsquo;s Play NY. Students focus on songs, dances and characters from Broadway&rsquo;s most celebrated and kid-friendly shows. They work alongside professional performers with years of experience bringing their passion to children. Class culminates in a movie showcase of scenes and songs. Join for the full session, or enroll as a drop-in! </div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shakespeare Scene Study (Grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12)</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Young people become confident with Shakespeare&rsquo;s world, language and characters as they learn how to interpret a role with technique and courage. Classically trained professional actors assist the players in their physical, vocal and emotional transformations. All Shakespeare teaching artists are classically trained professional actors and have performed Shakespeare both on and off Broadway and in regional theaters across the country.</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Students jump into the worlds of Shakespeare in this robust mash-up of improvisation and classic text scene study class. After learning the plot and characters from several plays, they rehearse and memorize scenes from the original text. New material, devised by the cast, adds a contemporary through-line to their show and highlights the universality of Shakespeare&rsquo;s themes. Class culminates in a movie showcasing their work.</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Big Twist: A New Musical (Grade 1-4)</div> &nbsp; <div style="caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this acting class, students get to perform a brand new musical based on The Wizard of Oz. The Wicked Witch of the South wants to return Oz to a time when WITCHES reigned supreme, and all was evil. Summoning a dark magic Tornado, the Wicked Witch of the South sends Oz hurtling into an alternate Oz. With the Yellow Brick road destroyed, the Wizard left powerless, and the citizens of Oz scattered to the Wind, our heroes are forced into unlikely partnerships to stop the Witch and restore the world to order. The Wizard of Oz meets The Tempest. &nbsp;Class culminates in a premiere of a movie starring the students, filmed over the last few days of the session.</div> &nbsp; &nbsp;