Seasonal & Holidays
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2021: How To Watch
The nationally televised Turkey Day parade will take place Thursday in Manhattan. Here's everything you need to know about the event.
NEW YORK, NY — After a year of virtual celebration, crowds are returning to the Manhattan streets on Thursday for the Macy's 2021 Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The 95th rendition of the parade will feature 15 balloon characters, 28 floats, more than 800 clowns, 10 marching bands, and nine performance groups.
Find out what's happening in Upper West Sidewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Balloon characters will be the same height as three-story buildings, stars like Carrie Underwood and Nelly will perform, and you can watch the whole procession from anywhere in the country on NBC.
Here's everything you need to know about the event.
Find out what's happening in Upper West Sidewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Route
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will take place on Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon.
The procession will kick off at West 77th Street and Central Park West, go south on Central Park West, travel through Columbus Circle, continue south on 6th Avenue, and end at the Macy Flagship Store in Herald Square.
You can check out the full route here, which will also tell you where public viewing is allowed and where it isn't.
Performers
Among the performers set to take part in the parade include: Jimmy Allen, Jon Batiste, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Crisis, Jordan Fisher, Foreigner, Sara Bareilles, Andy Grammer, Chris Lane, the cast and Muppets of "Sesame Street," Nelly, Kelly Rowland, Carrie Underwood, and more.
You can check out the full list of performers here.
How To Watch
The parade will be aired live from 9 a.m. to noon in all time zones on NBC and Telemundo, and will also stream on Peacock.
Balloons + Floats + Other Entertainment
Balloons: Pikachu, Ronald McDonald, Astronaut Snoopy, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Goku, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ada Twist, Grogu, Arrtle The Pirate, Happy Hippo, Sinclair's Dino, and more.
You can find the full list of balloons here.
Floats: 1-2-3 Sesame Street, Big Red Shoe Car, Blue's Clues & You!, Deck The Halls, the Fantasy Chocolate Factory, Birds of a Feather Stream Together, Celebration Gator, Magic Meets the Sea, and more.
You can find the full list of floats.
- Full list of high school marching bands: HERE
- Full list of clowns: HERE
- Full list of performance groups: HERE
Street Closures On Thursday Due To The Parade
Street closures are as follows:
•Broadway between West 34th Street and West 41st Street- Midnight to 1 p.m.
•6th Avenue between West 23rd Street and West 42nd Street – 2 a.m. to 1 p.m.
•7th Avenue from West 34th Street and West 42nd Street - 2 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
•West 34th Street between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue - 10 p.m. (Wed) to 5 p.m.
• West 59th Street E/B between 7th Avenue and Central Park West – Midnight to 2 p.m.
• West 59th Street W/B between 5th Avenue and Central Park West – 2 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 35th Street between 5th Avenue and 8th Avenue - 2 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• West 36th Street between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue - 2 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 37th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue - 4 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 38th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue - 4 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 8th Avenue between 34th Street and 40th Street - 4 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
•Broadway between 38th Street and 59th Street - 4 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• West 33rd Street between 7th Avenue and 10th Avenue - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 39th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 40th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 49th Street between 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• West 50th Street between 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
•Central Park 65th Street/ West 66th Street Transverse Roads 7 a.m. until conclusion
Please note: From 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. vehicles will not be able to access:
•6th Avenue between West 33rd and West 59th Street
•8th Avenue between West 57th Street and West 59th Street
•8th Avenue between West 33rd and West 40th Streets
•Broadway between West 59th Street and West 57th Street
•Broadway between West 34th and West 40th Streets (only escorted deliveries)
• West 42nd Street between 5th and 8th Avenue
• West 57th Street between 5th and 8th Avenue
MTA Expanded Thanksgiving Service
To ease holiday congestion, the MTA is offering extra trains Wednesday, free buses connecting to LaGuardia, a construction freeze, and more.
On Thanksgiving Thursday, New York City buses and subways will operate on a Sunday schedule, and the Staten Island Railway will operate on a Saturday schedule.
To accommodate the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the MTA is offering:
- Additional service on the 42 Street Shuttle and increased early morning service on the 1 Line
- 17 extra Long Island Rail Road trains. Six extra westbound trains will leave Long Island from 6 a.m. to 7:45 a.m., and 11 extra eastbound trains will leave Penn Station between 11 a.m. and 1:35 p.m.
- Metro-North will offer additional inbound morning service, and expanded outbound service from the late morning until the mid-afternoon.
You can check out all the MTA transport changes for the coming week here.
Read More:
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
