New York – It was hard to be thankful for the dreary weather, but tourists and New Yorkers alike had something to celebrate Thursday: The famed balloons of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade were allowed to fly despite cold rain and gusty winds.
The New York Police Department permitted the balloons to travel down Broadway – but at a lower height than usual to keep them out of the winds.
“I can almost reach out and touch Big Bird,” exclaimed 6-year-old Karen Rhames of the upstate New York town of Purchase, as she stood on her mother’s shoulders in Times Square. “He’s so close!”
Some of the giant balloons’ limbs dangled close to the rain-slicked streets – Snoopy, in particular, was dragging a leg – but they still wowed the crowd.
“The weather can’t dampen this; the rain doesn’t matter,” said Jaime Friedman, 38, of Long Island. “Once the parade starts, people warm up.”
The 80th edition of the holiday tradition featured 1,200 cheerleaders, 800 clowns, 33 floats, nine marching bands and one Barry Manilow.
The giant balloons, which included Garfield, Scooby-Doo, and Super Grover, were kept at a height of about 17 feet instead of the usual 18 to 55 feet.
Tighter restrictions were placed on the balloons after a wayward M&M balloon sent a piece of a streetlight onto two sisters from Albany last year. This year, Sarah and Mary Chamberlain and their family had front-row seats in the Herald Square grandstand.
“The parade is really great, but what matters is that they were fine in the end and were happy to come back here,” said the girls’ dad, Stephen. “It’s the best place in the world.”
