Good News for Thanksgiving
November 19, 2020
Despite the influx of Coronavirus cases in the United States, the long-time tradition of broadcasting the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will persevere. However, there have been some adjustments made to the parade with respect to the fact that the country is still facing a pandemic.
Instead of going along the traditional route of a 2.5 mile stretch through New York City, the route will be shortened to mainly the last section of the march. Most of the inflatable balloons (normally 
A Pikachu balloon is seen on 59th Street during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, in New York
2016 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, New York, USA (Scott Roth/Invision/AP/Shutterstock)
held by large groups of people) have been anchored to new specialty vehicles. The number of people involved has been cut down to 75% percent (when compared to last year’s parade). These participants have been staggered along the parade route, and the event will be filmed over the course of two days to minimize contact. And, in order to ensure the safety of the public, there will be no audience members around to watch the parade in-person.
For people who normally watch the parade at home, there shouldn’t be too much of a noticeable difference. There will be face masks, and Macy’s has made it clear that there will be no performances involving any participants under the age of 18 (such performances have been moved to next year’s parade). Otherwise, the tradition of hosting the Thanksgiving parade will continue on, fueled by the need of Americans across the country to maintain collectivism and unity in the brunt of the storm of 2020.
Sources: https://www.macys.com/social/parade/ https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/events/2020/11/03/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-different-2020-due-covid/6053300002/ https://www.6sqft.com/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-2020/#:~:text=Macy's%20announced%20today%20that%20its,teams%20that%20corral%20each%20balloon.
