What You Should Know About the Thanksgiving Day Parade

by Alex Lloyd Gross

ALEX LLOYD GROSS FILE PHOTO DELAWARE VALLEY NEWS.COM A parade picture from a few years ago.

The Thanksgiving Day Parade is a fun, free family event. It’s entertaining and fun to watch people try to handle giant balloons so they don’t come in contact with anything that can hinder their travel. For certain intersections, street lights are removed for safer handling around corners.

The parade is long, and when you sit for hours at a time, you will get cold. Food vendors and stands are spaced throughout the parade but it will cost you money, extra money. Prices are raised for the holiday. What normally costs $2.00 could cost $4.00. If you don’t like it, bring your own, along with a thermos of hot coffee or hot chocolate.

If you went to the website about the parade, you will be disappointed. Not only is the website not able to be viewed on a PC, properly a lot of the special guests are only there via a video. Sure the cast members from American Idol will be there but Joe Buck, Kelly Rippa will not, they will have a pre recorded video segment that you will never see if you are there in person. It’s geared for TV audiences only.Good Morning America hosts will be there in person.

This is not the parades of the 1980’s or even the late 1990’s where actors of hit shows like Dynasty or Boston Public will come into town to ride a float. It’s great to see an actor on TV now right in front of you, waving to your family. It’s time to bring that back for next year. Switch it up and have the American Idol people appear on video.

Performances are on front of the Art Museum. Any dance routines or singing segment are done there, which is done for the TV cameras. Depending on the configuration, there may be space available for people to see it but those spots are taken up quickly.

Families should go to the parade at least once. They can always watch it on TV, just mute the commercials and the food and drink are in the refrigerator.