Tradition on parade

The parade has been featured in numerous movies and television shows, and is seen live by more than 2 million people who line up more than 20 deep along Central Park West and Broadway and by about 60 million who watch the spectacular on television. The parade, which has been marching down Broadway since 1924, rain or shine, is the way millions of Americans start the holiday season. Tom Turkey begins the parade and Santa Claus ends it, which takes us from Thanksgiving to Christmas in 21/2 miles filled with floats, balloons, celebrities, clowns, the Rockettes and bands. Macy's gives us a morning that is festive, fun and free.

"The parade is the opening act of the Thanksgiving holiday for millions of families," says Robin Hall, the producer/director of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, on the nyctourist.com Web site. "It exists to bring people together, whether they are lining up along the 21/2-mile parade route with their hot chocolates in hand or gathering in front of the television in anticipation of the NBC broadcast, the parade has been and always will be, a constant in America's homes and hearts."

The parade is on NBC from 9 a.m. to noon and is hosted by "The Today Show's" Katie Couric and Matt Lauer at Herald Square and Al Roker uptown interviewing the audience and celebrities. NBC's Spanish broadcast station, Telemundo, features Roberto Angelelli, Candela Ferro and Mauricio Zeilic.

Many Neapolitans make up part of those millions who have been to the parade in person and still watch from their Naples homes each Thanksgiving and definitely agree with Hall that it is a constant.

Michael Celano of East Naples is a former Manhattanite who went to the parade many times as a child and took his own children when he was an adult.

"The enjoyment of the parade when I was a child was waiting for Santa to pass by. It meant that Christmas was almost here," Celano says. "I didn't think about the cold weather -- we even went in the snow one year -- but it was wonderful when it was sunny and warm. As an adult I saw the glamour of the parade with the bands, floats and of course the balloons. The parade is a part of American history and it is held in the capital of the world, New York City. I couldn't imagine living here and not coming at least once to feel the excitement and electricity of the crowds. Everyone was always so friendly and enthused."

LOOKING BACK

Here's a timeline of the parade: 1924 Macy's employees treated Manhattan to a parade, orginally called the Macy's Christmas Parade. It was such a success that it was made an annual event. 1927 The first character balloon, Felix the Cat, debuted. 1928 Balloons are released into the air as a finale to the parade, but they burst above the city's skyscrapers. 1929 Redesigned with safety valves allowing them to float for several days, the balloons are again. Return address labels offer prizes to those who retrieve them. 1933 Parade crowd reaches the one million mark. 1934 Walt Disney creates Mickey Mouse balloon for parade. 1942-44 Parade suspended during World War II; Macy's donates much-needed rubber from balloons to the war efffort. 1945 Drawing two million spectators, the parade resumes, using for the first time the same route used today. The parade is televised for the first time in New York. 1957 A downpour fills the cap of the Popeye balloon with water, causing it to veer off course and dump water on the sidelines. 1958 Due to an unexpected helium shortage, the balloons are filled with air and hoisted by cranes for the parade. 1962 Willie Mays, Otto Graham, Jack Dempsey and Ralph Terry are first sports stars to ride in parade. 1963 Floats are draped in black following the assassination of President Kennedy. 1986 Sesame Street's Big Bird makes debut as a balloon. 1996 Rugrats becomes the parade's first three character balloon. 2001 A new Big Bird Balloon is introduced. 2003 More than 2.5 million people are expected to line the streets and another 44 million will watch the parade on television. Sources: www.macysparade.com and nyctourist.com

"The crowds were exciting, the balloons were wonderful, and when I look back I feel privileged to have been living in the greatest city in the world. I couldn't wait to take my three children to see their reactions. My husband, Bob, and I drove in from New Jersey with our kids and had as much fun as they did. The crowds were bigger and so were the balloons," Mesuk says. "Now I have the TV on while I am cooking and try to get glimpses of the parade and watch everyone shivering, but it was fun and a wonderful experience."

The balloons have given Macy's the distinction of being the second biggest user of helium in the world, second only to the U.S. government. This year the Marx Brothers balloon heads, Dachshund, Turkey and the Balloonhead Family will be brought back from the '30s, '40s and '50s. The balloons have been in the parade since 1927 and are the signature of the parade.

It takes almost a year to create a balloon, from design to reality. The longest balloon floating in this year's parade is Kermit the Frog at 78 feet. The balloons are such a huge part of the parade that when there was a shortage of helium in 1958 the balloons were still in the parade and brought down the parade route on cranes.

Mary McIntyre lived in New York City until a few years ago and went to the parade once with her granddaughter, Kali Una Norris. Both are now Naples residents, but it was not a positive experience for McIntyre.

"I was scared to death," McIntyre says. "The balloons were so big and kept swaying in the wind and went bouncing all around. I thought they would crash and hurt us. Kali Una loved everything, the bands, clowns and especially Santa, but I swore I wouldn't go again. It is much better on TV. Looking back I can't believe Grandma was afraid and granddaughter was so excited. I do watch it now that I live in Naples, but I'll never get over my fear."

This year is the 77th parade and it includes 5,000 participants, 42 balloons -- with three new giant ones (Strike Up The Band Barney, Super Grover and Garfield) to bring the total of giant helium characters to 15 -- 29 floats including seven new ones, 10 marching bands including Jones High School in Orlando and 30 groups of clowns. Some of the celebrities that will be in the parade are Clay Aiken, Aaron Carter, Chicago, Peter Cincotti, Judy Collins, Hilary Duff, Harvey Fierstein and the cast of "Hairspray," Kool & The Gang, Ruben Studdard and more.

Rose DeMeo of Naples lived in Floral Park, N.Y., and took the subway with her husband and children to watch the parade. She still watches it on television, which she says brings back all the memories of being there.

"I can still smell the chestnuts and none of us minded the cold," DeMeo says. "We used to watch for a while then go into the subway and got off to see another part of the parade and kept doing that through the morning to keep from getting too cold. It was crowded, but you didn't seem to mind because we were having fun. My son is grown and a doctor but still goes to see them blow up the balloons the night before. He always calls to make sure we are watching the parade on TV."

Phillip Martin grew up in France but lived in Manhattan for many years before moving to North Naples. He and his friends embraced the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and the parade was part of their ritual. Everyone who didn't have family nearby would meet at Martin's apartment early in the morning and drop off what they made for Thanksgiving dinner before going uptown to see the parade.

"I always made the turkey and it was roasting before anyone got here," Martin says. "We would fill a Thermos with hot cocoa, buy Dunkin' Donuts and go to Columbus Circle with our beach chairs and cardboard to rest our feet on. The cardboard kept our feet off the sidewalk and helped from getting too cold. We always set up at Columbus Circle and stayed for the whole parade.

"It was spectacular and overwhelming to see the balloons and the enthusiasm of the crowd. Looking back it was like a very cold Disney World. We did this every year for about six years and had a ball. Afterwards we went to a coffee shop to thaw out and have breakfast and then back to my place to finish cooking. It was the one day of the year we knew we would be together even if the group didn't have a chance to see each other for months. We knew we would go to the parade and have Thanksgiving dinner together no matter what."

The only time the parade has been canceled was during three years of World War II. A snowstorm in 1989 wasn't even a challenge. Time marches on and the parade marches down Broadway year after year for new generations of Americans, New Yorkers and tourists to enjoy.

Dr. Jim and Arlene Tannenbaum-O'Leary lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for almost 30 years before moving to Naples.

"The parade is all about the excitement and vibrancy of New York City," Arlene Tannenbaum-O'Leary says. "Through the years we have seen it in person as well as on TV. It was always a thrill, but even more exciting is the evening before at 79th Street and Central Park West. That is where the Macy's personnel and hundreds of other people make final preparations-- blowing up the balloons, setting up the floats, doing last minute painting and decorating and more. That was truly New York City at its finest with moments never to be forgotten."