A chill in the air, and nothing else: Macy’s parade plays it safe
In a week of heavy national news the Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade offered something surprisingly rare a calm settled holiday morning in New York Temperatures hovered in the low s brisk but manageable and a steady wind kept the giant balloons flying lower than usual Instead of creating chaos the breeze just added a bit of winter character Crowds bundled up grabbed coffee and watched floats roll past in a mood that felt more hometown-holiday than high-gloss spectacle Start your day with essential news from Salon Sign up for our free morning newsletter Crash Program Performers from Broadway major pop acts and marching bands filled the trail with familiar holiday potential A family-friendly mix of artists included Elmo and Christopher Jackson Shaggy and Busta Rhymes Foreigner and Debbie Gibson Jewel and Cynthia Erivo the voices behind the hit animated series K-Pop Demon Hunters The usual cast of balloon icons like Snoopy Pikachu Bluey and Spider-man floated just above street level close enough that kids could point out stitching details But the real headline this year Nothing went wrong unlike previous years No dramatic balloon malfunctions no out-of-control gusts no viral mishaps destined for parade-history listicles Just a steady warm-hearted procession winding from the Upper West Side to Herald Square For a great number of the quietness felt intentional almost like the parade understood the collective exhaustion of the moment After months of political turmoil national tension and a record-breaking news cycle the parade didn t try to top itself It just indicated up delivered the tradition as promised and let New Yorkers breathe for a couple of hours And then right on cue Santa Claus closed it out a familiar ending to a rare peaceful holiday start Read more about the Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade Free Palestine protesters demonstrate at Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade How the Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be different in on NBC WATCH Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons are inflated The post A chill in the air and nothing else Macy s parade plays it safe appeared first on Salon com
