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HISTORY In the 1920s many of Macy's department store employees were second-generation Immigrants . Proud of their new American heritage, they wanted to celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festival they loved in Europe . In 1924 , the employees marched to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo . At the end of that first Parade, as has been the case with every Parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first Parade, however, the Jolly Old Elf was enthroned on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then "crowned" "King of the Kiddies." With an audience of over a quarter of a million people, the Parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event. Large animal shaped Balloon s replaced the live animals in 1927 when the Felix The Cat balloon debuted. Felix was filled with air, but by the next year, Helium was used to fill the expanding cast of balloons. One tradition long gone is the releasing of the balloons. They would float for days and the lucky finder or finders could claim a cash reward if he or she returned the balloon and/or its remains to Macy's. Through the 1930s , the Parade grew and grew until crowds of over 1 million lined the Parade route in 1933 . The first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the Parade in 1934 . The Parade ceremonies were broadcast on local New York Radio . The Parade was suspended from 1942 - 1944 because of World War II . The rubber and helium were needed for the war effort. The Parade resumed in 1945 using the route that it still runs today. The parade gained serious fame after being prominently featured in the 1947 film, '' Miracle On 34th Street ''. The parade was televised in New York and drew over two million live spectators. In the 1950s , the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was Televised nationwide; indeed, the NBC telecast has since earned several Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Special Event Coverage, much of it the result of the genius of then producer/director Dick Schneider. The Parade always goes on, rain or shine, although there have been mishaps with the balloons because of inclement weather. In 1971 , the winds were so bad, the balloons had to be cancelled. In 1997 , high winds pushed the Cat In The Hat balloon into a Lamppost . The falling debris put a parade-goer in a coma for a month after her skull was fractured. Safety measures were put in place to keep this type of accident from repeating itself. Nonetheless, during the 2005 parade, a light from a Times Square streetlight fell onto two sisters in the crowd, Sarah and Mary Chamberlain, 11 and 26, after the lamp came in contact with a giant M&M balloon. The injuries were minor. LIVE FROM NEW YORK The Parade on NBC in its present televised form -- seen by 60 million viewers -- is hosted by that network's '' Today Show '' team of Katie Couric , Matt Lauer and Al Roker . Members of the ''Today'' cast have handled the coverage since its inception in 1952. (In the 1970s and 80s, '' Tonight Show '' announcer Ed McMahon hosted 11 parade broadcasts.) In addition to this version, executive produced by Brad Lachman, the man best known for his legendary '' Solid Gold '' music television series of the late 1970s and early 80s, the Parade coverage has been simulcast in Spanish on NBC-owned Telemundo since 2003 . CBS has aired portions through the years, usually as part of its round-robin coverage of parades from Philadelphia, Chicago, and other U.S. cities. The competition between the two networks took an unusual turn when the 2005 streetlight accident happened. NBC (whose parade coverage is produced by the entertainment, not news unit) did not have information about the accident to relay to Couric and Lauer, and the Peacock Network went to videotaped footage from 2004, which Couric noted on-air. CBS's parade anchors, '' Early Show '' co-hosts Hannah Storm and Dave Price , reported the incident, and CBS (whose parade coverage is a corporate production outside of news or entertainment) aired footage from the scene before signing off at noon Eastern time. PARADE ROUTE
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