Macy’s Thankgiving Day Parade this Thursday

Set your PVRs! The 87^th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be taking place this Thursday (November 28^th) morning along the streets of Manhattan. The parade, which is held by the U.S. chain story Macy’s, has been occurring annually in Manhattan, New York City since 1924. With a variety of ginormous balloons, extravagant floats and popular performers, this iconic parade attracts more than 3.5 million people to the streets of New York and over 50 million television viewers.

The parade begins at 9 a.m. at 77^th Street and Central Park West and concludes at 12 p.m. at 34^th Street and Seventh Avenue. Performers include Kellie Pickler, Ariana Grande, Cher Lloyd, Gavin DeGraw, Florida Georgia Line and many more. This year’s Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star’s The Summer Set will also be performing. Some of the most famous and recognizable balloons that will once again be flying during the parade include Hello Kitty, Spider-Man, Buzz Lightyear and Snoopy & Woodstock. The popular floats appearing in the parade include The Big Apple, the Marion-Carole Showboat, and Santa’s Sleigh.

However, there’s one specific float in the parade might be booed off the parade route. SeaWorld’s float “A Sea of Surprises” has been met with great controversy after their harsh treatment of the Orca whales was revealed. A spokesperson for PETA has called the float “deceptive in the extreme” as the float depicts Orcas swimming happily in the ocean with the rest of their pods. Animal rights activists plan to protest the float on Tuesday outside the storage facility in New Jersey. PETA has also released an online petition, which has already been signed by more than 80,000 people. The parade air on NBC from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ~Brie Davis