MACY’S ANNOUNCES PERFORMERS, NEW FLOATS, BALLOONS FOR THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

Details have been announced for the 89th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will take place on Thursday, November 26 in New York City. More than 8,000 participants will travel through Manhattan to the sound of the iconic catchphrase Let’s Have a Parade. The TODAY Show’s Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker will host the three-hour broadcast, from 9 a.m. until noon (in all time zones), on NBC.

This year’s event will feature 17 giant character balloons; 24 novelty/ornament balloons, balloonicles and trycaloons; 27 floats; 1,100 cheerleaders and dancers; more than 1,000 clowns; 12 marching bands; a host of celebrity performers; and Santa Claus.

The parade procession will feature a star-studded cast including Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Mariah Carey, Dove Cameron and Sofia Carson, Cirque du Soleil, Daughtry, Andra Day, Andy Grammer, Sandra Lee, Shawn Mendes, Mipso, Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell, Jennifer Nettles, NHL legends Mark and Marty Howe, Jake Owen, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, Rachel Platten, Prince Royce, Questlove with the cast & Muppets of Sesame Street, Trey Songz, Jordin Sparks, members of the Broadway company of School of Rock and Train.

The event will begin with performances in Herald Square from the Broadway shows Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Neverland, The King & I, On Your Feet! and Something Rotten. In addition, spectators will get a sneak preview performance from NBC’s The Wiz Live!

Specialty entertainment groups include the 610 Stompers (New Orleans, LA), Brooklyn Jumbies (Brooklyn, NY), J.U.M.P. jump rope team (Strongsville, OH) and the Kruti Dance Academy (Duluth, GA).

This year, four new giant balloon characters will take center stage including Angry Birds’ Red by Rovio Entertainment; the pre-historic and legendary DINO by Sinclair Oil; Ice Age’s Scrat and his Acorn by Twentieth Century Fox; and Ronald McDonald debuting in his fourth whimsical giant balloon.

There will also be six new floats, including Big City Cheer! by Spirit of America Productions, The Colonel’s Road Trip to NYC by Kentucky Fried Chicken, The Cranberry Cooperative by Ocean Spray, Discover Adventure! by Build-A-Bear, Heartwarming Holiday Countdown by Hallmark Channel and Snoopy’s Doghouse by Peanuts Worldwide.