Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade held every Thanksgiving Day in New York City. Originally called the Macy's Christmas Parade, the parade was first held in 1924 and has been cancelled only twice due to rubber shortages during World War II. The parade features large balloons of well-known characters alongside floats and marching bands, ending with a float of Santa Claus upon his sleigh, marking the start of the Christmas season.

Kermit the Frog balloon
The first Kermit the Frog balloon debuted in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1977. The balloon was 63 feet tall and 24 feet wide, and took four hours and 5,220 cubic feet of helium to reach its full size. It was constructed at the Goodyear plant in Rockmart, Georgia.

The Muppet cast made a live appearance in the 1979 Parade to promote The Muppet Movie. Miss Piggy rode the parade route in a Rolls Royce, followed by the rest of the Muppets in the Electric Mayhem bus.

Also in 1979, the Kermit balloon was the first inflatable from the parade to travel outside of the USA, heading to England to help celebrate the International Year of the Child.

The 1985 parade was affected by heavy rain, which weighed down the balloons. The Kermit balloon ripped its stomach along Central Park West during the parade. With only about 20% of his helium inside the balloon, Kermit was carried for the rest of the parade by his green-clad frog handlers.

In 1987, Jim Henson and Kermit appeared live on the telecast to accept the Rollie Award, an award named for Rowland H. Macy, for their years of service to the parade. Kermit graciously accepted the award, saying, "Listen, to be immortalized in a large balloon about 75 feet tall and filled with gas is one of the greatest thrills of my life, and I wish everybody out there could have the same exciting thrill. And it would be a wonderful parade if they did."

A new Kermit the Frog balloon debuted in 2002. The new balloon is 78' long, 36' wide, 61' tall, and filled with 11,000 cubic feet of helium.

Also in 2002, Kermit and Miss Piggy appeared during the broadcast, and were interviewed by Today Show weatherman Al Roker. The couple talked about the new Kermit balloon. (Not so coincidentally, their new TV-movie, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie aired on NBC a day later.)

Sesame Street float
A Sesame Street float first appeared in the parade in 1974, with Muppets and cast members waving to the crowd from a set based on the famous 123 Sesame Street brownstone.  The current Sesame Street float measures 32 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 2 stories tall.

The Sesame Street cast sings a song in the television broadcast every year, including:


 * 1990: Ernie and Bert walk-around characters sing "Do You Like Me?"
 * 1998: Cast members sing "Sing"
 * 1999: Cast members sing "How Do You Do?"
 * 2002: American and international Sesame characters sing "We Are All Earthlings"
 * 2004: Cast members sing "The Street We Live On"
 * 2005: Cast members sing "Dancing Shoes"
 * 2006: Cast members sing "Another Sunny Day"
 * 2007: Cast members sing "It Feels Good When You Sing a Song"
 * 2008: Cast members sing "Songs" with pianist Lang Lang

In 2002, the Sesame float featured a timely message about peace and universal goodwill, and the American cast was joined by a group of international Sesame Muppets. The international Muppets included Filfil, Nimnim and Khokha from Egypt's Alam Simsim, Zuzu from South Africa's Takalani Sesame, Hu Hu Zhu from China's Zhima Jie, Rumpel and Samson from Germany's Sesamstrasse, Kareem, Dafi and Haneen from the Palestinian Shara'a Simsim, Abelardo and Lola from Mexico's Plaza Sésamo, and Zeliboba from the Russian Ulitsa Sezam. This year, the cast sang "We Are All Earthlings".

Several Sesame characters have also appeared in balloon form. Big Bird's balloon debuted in 1986, and was updated in 2001 with a new model. A Super Grover balloon launched in 2003, and was followed by an Abby Cadabby balloon in 2007.

Fraggle Rock float
A Fraggle Rock float appeared in the Parade in 1983 and 1984. The float featured Junior Gorg sitting on top, swinging his club on a set based on the Gorgs' garden. Uncle Traveling Matt hid below Junior's line of sight. Below Junior, the float opened out into a lavish Fraggle caves set, where the main characters played instruments and sang while other Fraggles played around them -- including two Fraggles balanced on a seesaw. The Fraggles performed a short version of the "Fraggle Rock Theme".

The float was also accompanied by a group of Fraggle walk-around characters.

Muppet Appearances at the Macy's Parade
Bold text indicates the debut of a new balloon or float.


 * 1974: Sesame Street float
 * 1975: Sesame Street float
 * 1976: Sesame Street float
 * 1977: Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1978: Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1979: The Muppet Movie promotion, Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1980: Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1981: Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1982: Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1983: Fraggle Rock float, Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1984: Fraggle Rock float, Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1985: Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1986: Big Bird balloon, Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1987: Jim Henson and Kermit accept the Rollie Award, Kermit the Frog balloon , Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1988: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1989: New Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1990: Kermit and Miss Piggy walk-arounds riding in a Rolls-Royce car, Kermit the Frog balloon , Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1991: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1992: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1993: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1994: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1995: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1996: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1997: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1998: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 1999: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 2000: Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 2001: New Big Bird balloon, Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 2002: New Kermit the Frog balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 2003: Super Grover balloon, Kermit the Frog balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 2004: Kermit the Frog balloon, Super Grover balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 2005: Kermit the Frog balloon, Super Grover balloon, Big Bird balloon, Sesame Street float
 * 2006: Super Grover balloon, Big Bird balloon, 123 Sesame Street float
 * 2007: Abby Caddaby balloon, Kermit the Frog balloon, 123 Sesame Street float
 * 2008: Kermit the Frog rides in the Central Park float and performs "I Believe", Kermit the Frog balloon , Abby Cadabby balloon, 123 Sesame Street float with Lang Lang

Merchandise
Macy's also carries parade exclusive merchandise every year. Many of those items have featured the Muppets, including a water globe featuring the Big Bird balloon, and plush versions of Grover and Kermit.