Spectacular floats featuring the Bronx Zoo’s wild denizens and also creepy characters from “The Addams Family’’ are among those set to debut at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
More than a half-dozen new floats will be featured at the 98th annual event, which kicks off Nov. 28.
The added displays involve characters from “The Addams family” Netflix series “Wednesday” and the Bronx Zoo, Rao’s “Pasta Knight’’, a “Go Bowling” figure, Nickelodeon’s “Dara’s Fantastical Rainforest,” “Candy Cosmos” by Haribo and a “Magic Meets the Seas” display from Disney Cruise Line.
“The Bronx Zoo [“Wonderous World of Wildlife”] float … does hold a very special place in my heart, because I think it’s such a wonderful, iconic New York float, New York element,” said Kathleen Wright, director of production operations at Macy’s Parade Studio, during a first-look preview Tuesday.
“I also think that the ‘Rao’s Homemade’ float is a really fun one this year,” Wright said. “It’s really representative of what we love to do here at Macy’s studios, which is take a partner and incorporate them into what we do, which is build storytelling, build stages.
“And I think that you’ll see that in all of the attention to detail on this year’s floats.”
The floats will begin their journey to Manhattan from the Macy’s Parade Studio in Moonachie, NJ, and collapse down into the “size of a city bus” to be transported through the Lincoln Tunnel to the starting line on the Upper West Side, where they’re reassembled – all ahead of their 2.5-mile procession Thanksgiving morning.
“It’s such a logistical challenge and puzzle to put together, but it is my absolute favorite thing that we do,” Wright said.
“This year, I think that one of our biggest challenges is just making sure that everyone has fun and everyone enjoys the parade. And I don’t think that I’m too worried about that,” she said.
New floats are conceived each year by a team of artists at Macy’s Parade Studio, helmed by a network of carpenters, engineers, electricians, painters, animators, balloon technicians and more with the goal of showcasing innovative designs.
Spectators at the Thanksgiving tradition will be in for “fantastic” weather, Wright said.
The parade won’t be deterred even if there are a few showers on Turkey Day, Wright noted.
“We have anemometers along our parade route that help us monitor the weather, but all of our floats and balloons are weatherproof, so this parade will march rain or shine,” the director said.
The parade will kick off at 8:30 a.m. EST Thanksgiving morning, and viewers at home can tune in to see the larger-than-life floats on NBC and Peacock.
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