Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

This Year’s Thanksgiving Parade

For 87-years, people enjoyed Thanksgiving by watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year, 50 million people watched the parade in New York City, but the ones who do not live there simply just watched it on national television on CBS, which means billions of people must have seen it. This year, the parade was hosted by Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie. It began at 9 a.m. and ended at noon. There were many performers, balloons, floats, marching bands, and participants took their place in this extraordinary event.

The parade started with musical and dance numbers from upcoming Broadway shows, such as Matilda, Kinky Boots, Pippin, The Sound of Music Live! (Starring Carrie Underwood as Maris, a dance routine by the Rockettes from the Radio City Music Hall, and Motown: The Musical.

Marching bands from different schools, stations, and universities marched and played many instruments in the parade, including the James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes, Concord Community High School Marching Minutemen, East Coast Marines Marching Band, Tarpon Springs High School Outdoor Performance Ensemble, Ooltewah High School Marching Band, NYPD Marching Band, University of Massachusetts Amherst Minuteman Marching Band, Mountain View High School Toro Marching Band, Marian Catholic High School Marching Band, Macy’s Great American Marching Band, United States Marine Corps Quantico Band, Union High School Renegade Regiment, and Lakota West High School Marching Firebirds.

There were many floats and balloons including the Tom Turkey Float (Sandra Lee rides float), Snoopy & Woodstock Balloon, Woodland Family Gathering Float, Sonic the Hedgehog Balloon, The Sunny Side Up Show (Cast sings Kindness Counts), Aflac Float, Hockey Player Float, Sesame Street Float (Jimmy Fallon and cast sing Somebody Come & Play), Hello Kitty Balloon, Goldfish Float, Bridge to the Future Float, Diary of A Wimpy Kid Balloon, Gibson Float, Happy Hippo Balloon, Paul Frank Balloon, Seaworld Float, Kool Aid Float, Marion Carole Boat Float, Planters Nutmobile, Drake’s Cake Float (Miss America rides this float), Mt. Rushmore Float, Big Apple Horse Drawn Carriage, Ronald McDonald Balloon, ZuZu Pets Zuni-verse Float, SpongeBob SquarePants Balloon, New World At Sea Float, Cirque Du Soleil Float, Toothless the Dragon Balloon, Lindt Chocolate Float, Wizard of Oz Hot Air Balloon, Pep Squad Float, Spider-Man Balloon, Big Apple Float, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Float, Pokémon Balloons (Pokéball and Pikachu), Despicable Me 2 Float, Pillsbury Doughboy Balloon, Build A Bear Workshop Float, Finn & Jake Balloon, Buzz Lightyear Balloon, Domino Sugar Float, Autumn Float, Dora the Explorer Float, Yes, Virginia Balloon, Central Park Float, Elf on a Shelf Balloon, Spinning Dreidel Float, Smurf Float, Papa Smurf Balloon, Homewood Suites Duck Family Float, Christmas Locomotive, and the Santa Claus Float, which is also the big finale for the parade.

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Many performers sang and danced on some floats or at times, the parade would cease and  dance teams  performed. Performers include Gavin Degraw, the Spirit of America Dance Team, Kellie Pickler, Fifth Harmony, All That!, Cher Lloyd, Florida Georgia Line, Tituss Burgess, The Summer Set, J.U.M.P., Debby Ryan, Kristin Chenoweth, Goo Goo Dolls, Varsity Spirit Cheerleaders, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce, Fall Out Boy, South Shore Drill Team, Austin Mahone, Brett Eldredge, Cherokee Nathional Youth, Ariana Grande, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Meghan Hilty, and Mannheim Steamroller.

The parade was very enjoyable, but next year, it will probably be even better. In three years, it will be its 90th anniversary and they will always include new floats, balloons, and more.

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