Performers gear up for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

NEW YORK (AP) — Growing up in Chicago, Broadway star Brittney Mack faithfully watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV after fulfilling her own parade duties. Now she’s getting ready to bundle up, hit the streets of Manhattan and be part of the big one for the first time.

Mack, who plays one of the wives of Henry VIII in the hit musical “Six,” is slated to perform a mashup of some of its songs live Thursday with her castmates and band in front of a televised audience of millions.

“I’ve got my long johns and it’s going to be epic,” she says. “I finally get to meet Snoopy. That’s really my dream — to see the big Snoopy balloon, honestly.”

Astronaut Snoopy will hover overhead as the parade returns to its pre-pandemic form this year, with its route restored through Manhattan and high-flying helium balloons once again pulled by handlers.

This year’s parade — the 95th annual — will snap back to form after bowing to pandemic restrictions last year. It will feature 15 giant character balloons, 28 floats, 36 novelty and heritage inflatables, more than 800 clowns, 10 marching bands and nine performance groups and, of course, Santa Claus bringing up the rear.

New balloon giants joining the line-up include Ada Twist, Scientist; the pint-sized hero from “The Mandalorian” and the Pokémon characters Pikachu and Eevee on a sled.

Mack and her castmates have learned new choreography, been over the new music and will rehearse on the street in front of the department store to get it right. With the weather looking brisk, she’s kindly ordered handwarmers and footwarmers for her fellow “Six” performers. “I won’t be home to watch it, but I think the trade-off is pretty good,” she says.

Her grandmother is taping the parade from Mississippi while her mom and the rest of her family will be cheering from Chicago. Mack may be used to performing live but this time is special.

“The adult in me that has worked so hard to get here is like, ‘You know what? You’ll be fine. You’re in it. Get it together,’” she says. “I think I also will feel better when I see Snoopy, so it’ll all be good.”

In addition to “Six,” Broadway will be represented by the casts of “Chicago,” “Waitress,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Wicked.” The Rockettes will be there, as will the cast of the upcoming NBC live production of “Annie.”

Maya Bowles, who will be there representing the Tony-winning “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” recalls waking up every Thanksgiving in Atlanta and making pound cake with her mother while watching the parade before gathering with her family at grandma’s house.

“It definitely does feel so special coming back after this long, long pause,” she said. “So much has changed so quickly. I feel like, for me, it’s weird not being with them for the holiday, but I’m super-grateful to be doing what I’ll be doing.”

As in years past, the New York Police Department said it will block off all vehicle access points to the parade route with sand-filled garbage trucks, other heavy vehicles and approximately 360,000 pounds of concrete barriers. Thousands of officers are assigned to the parade route, including counterterrorism teams. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said there were no specific, credible threats to the parade.

There will be new floats led by the cast of “Girls5eva” — Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Busy Philipps — Nelly and Jordan Fisher, while Jon Batiste will be on an alligator-themed float celebrating Louisiana’s music, food and culture.

Other celebrities on hand will include Carrie Underwood, Jimmie Allen, Kelly Rowland, Rob Thomas, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Foreigner, Andy Grammer, Mickey Guyton, Chris Lane, Miss America Camille Schrier, Muppets from “Sesame Street” and the three past and current hosts of “Blue’s Clues” — Steve Burns, Donovan Patton and Josh Dela Cruz.

Some of the returning balloons will be “The Boss Baby,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” Chase from “Paw Patrol,” the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald, Red Titan from “Ryan’s World,” Papa Smurf, Sonic the Hedgehog and SpongeBob SquarePants.

The Macy’s parade has been a traditional holiday season kickoff and spectators often line up a half-dozen deep along the route to cheer about 8,000 marchers, two dozen floats, entertainers and marching bands.

Last year, the usual 2 1/2-mile route through crowded Manhattan was scrapped in favor of concentrating events to a one-block stretch of 34th Street in front of the retailer’s flagship Manhattan store. Many performances were pre-taped and most of the parade’s performers were locally based to cut down on travel. The balloons were tethered to specialized vehicles instead of being controlled by handlers.

-Associated Press

New York reassures tourists after terror threat

NEW YORK, United States - New York is reassuring tourists that America's biggest city is safe as it prepares to welcome more than five million visitors for the busy holiday season after the Paris attacks.

The winter tourism season officially kicked off with Thursday's Thanksgiving Parade, where hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to watch the three-hour event amid tight security.

After the Paris attacks on November 13, an Islamic State group propaganda video broadcast images of New York from Times Square. US authorities hit back that there was no credible threat against the city or anywhere else in the United States.

"We had some hotel cancellations from small groups," said Chris Heywood, senior vice president of global communications at NYC and Company -- the city's official marketing and tourism organization.

Despite what he calls a "sprinkling of a few cancellations," he is still encouraging people to visit the metropolis for the "magical holiday season" that lasts through December until New Year.

"The city is open," he told AFP. "It is business as usual."

Eighty-nine people were killed at the Bataclan concert hall in the Paris attacks, but the Broadway League says there has been no drop in attendance since the carnage in France.

The US State Department has issued a worldwide travel alert, warning Americans of a heightened terrorist threat in "multiple regions," which has added to the worry among tourist industry professionals.

"We have seen a fall in reservations," said the CEO of Air France, Alexandre de Juniac, during a visit last week to New York, the prime target in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.

A US airline also said reservations from Europe were down, without wanting to give figures.

"I was in a plane 90 percent empty," Christine Priotto, mayor of Dieulefit, a town in southern France, told AFP after arriving this week in New York on a private visit.

"It was a little strange."

- 'People don't want to come' -

In Times Square, where police armed with heavy guns can be seen patrolling, bus ticket tout Farid Et Takaouy said he had never seen so little trade for the end of November.

"It's really dropped over the last two weeks," he said. "People take photos of the police and send them to their friends everywhere and so people don't want to come any more," he told AFP.

He says people who dress up as Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear and as Statues of Liberty to pose with tourists in exchange for a few dollars have also seen their business fall.

Tourism is a hugely important industry in New York City: an influx of 5.3 million people was expected for the holiday season, which authorities say brings $3.7 billion to the local economy.

On Tuesday, the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be lit. The open-air skating rinks are open, the famous department stores have already got their Christmas windows decorated.

But some tourists are still thinking twice, particularly those from France.

Alexandra, a French woman from Aix-en-Provence, planned a trip to New York with her husband and their two teenagers long ago. But the Paris attacks and the IS group's propaganda video dampened their enthusiasm.

"In all the emotion, we questioned whether we should travel and at the moment our son doesn't want to go," she told AFP, not wanting to give her second name.

The family are thinking about it. Reassured by the stepped-up security, Alexandra thinks in the end they will still visit New York.

"We are more aware," said the mayor Priotto. But she says she has been more touched by the welcome from New Yorkers than the police patrols.

"When I went to the Statue of Liberty, one man, a ticket seller, took me into his arms," she said, still surprised. "And another said, 'Vive La France.'"

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama says US is safe as millions set off on Thanksgiving travel

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - President Barack Obama sought to reassure Americans they were safe as millions of travelers set off for the long Thanksgiving weekend on Wednesday and authorities stepped up security at airports in response to the attacks in Paris two weeks ago.

In New York City, record-breaking crowds were expected on Thursday for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and Police Commissioner William Bratton said the city was deploying more officers at the annual event than ever before.

"Right now, we know of no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland," Obama told reporters at the White House, two weeks after suspected Islamist militants killed 130 people in a series of coordinated attacks in the French capital.

"We are taking every possible step to keep our homeland safe," he said, flanked by his FBI director and other top security officials on the day before Thanksgiving, when many Americans travel to be with their extended families for a traditional turkey dinner.

Nearly 46.9 million Americans will travel over the long Thanksgiving weekend - the busiest U.S. travel holiday of the year - with 3.6 million going by plane, according to the AAA, a motorist advocacy group.

Most U.S. airports reported flights delays of less than 15 minutes, according to tracking websites. Passengers at airports from Washington to New York said they saw heavier than normal security, but that travel was flowing smoothly.

Americans have become more concerned about threats since the Paris attacks and now identify terrorism as the most important problem facing the nation, Reuters-Ipsos polling shows.

"We have to live our lives right? We're having a good time. We did a cruise and now we're doing New York City," said Karen Damaschino, 47, of San Francisco after landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport to spend the holiday in New York.

The U.S. response to Islamic State has become a top issue in the race to succeed Obama in the November 2016 presidential election. In his statement, Obama tried to allay Americans' concerns.

"I know that families have discussed their fears about the threat of terrorism around the dinner table, many for the first time since September 11th," he said, referring to the 2001 attacks by al Qaeda on New York and Washington.

But he told Americans they should "go about their usual Thanksgiving weekend activities" while remaining vigilant to any suspicious activities.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio echoed that sentiment at a news conference on Manhattan's Upper West Side, where crews were inflating the giant balloons that highlight the Macy's parade, the traditional start to the holiday shopping season.

"One thing I always say, there are some people trying to intimidate New Yorkers. Well, New Yorkers don't get intimidated," he said. "They'll be out tomorrow in droves."

STAY VIGILANT

To underscore Obama's message, his Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson held a photo op at Washington's Union Station just before boarding an Amtrak train to Newark, N.J., on the heavily traveled Northeast corridor, en route home for the holiday

"It should be obvious to the public that there is a heightened presence" of law enforcement officers at train stations, airports and other public places, Johnson said. "We are working overtime to protect the homeland."

Some travel analysts expected airport delays as a result of heightened security.

But at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, one of the country's busiest, Kirsten Bohling, 27, said she was pleasantly surprised by how painless her check-in went.

"Lines are way shorter than I thought they would be and moving 10 times faster than I thought," she said. "I think they were really really prepared."

The FBI sent a bulletin earlier this week to police departments across the country warning of possible copycat incidents after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks and sharing intelligence on how the attacks were carried out.

The U.S. State Department also issued a worldwide travel alert on Monday warning American travelers to remain vigilant, particularly when visiting foreign countries.

As many as 3.5 million people were expected to line the 2.5-mile (4 km) route of the Macy's parade in New York, according to organizers. City officials have made numerous public appearances in recent days seeking to reassure New Yorkers and tourists.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Macy's parade gets new route, balloons

New York City's 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will debut a new route along 6th Avenue, as well as some new balloons and floats, officials said.

The procession, which will include 16 giant character balloons, 40 novelty/ornament balloons, 28 floats, 1,600 cheerleaders and dancers, 900 clowns, 11 marching bands, a host of celebrity performers, will start at 9 a.m. on Nov. 22, Macy's said in a news release.

Organizers decided to move the parade to 6th Avenue because it is broader and a more accessible path that marks only the seventh time the Parade has changed its route, the release said.

"The 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will again make history as it debuts three impressive giant balloons, six over-the-top floats, an amazing array of talent and the most remarkable high school, college and professional marching bands in the nation," said Amy Kule, executive producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

She added, "As it has during turbulent times in our history, we hope the Macy's Parade serves as a beacon of hope and renewal for all Americans who will gather with friends and family to give thanks this season and begin to heal from the devastating aftermath of Superstorm Sandy."

The new character balloons include "The Elf on the Shelf" storybook character, Hello Kitty in a retro airplane and a dancing Papa Smurf, the New York Post reported.

Macy's veteran balloon designer John Piper said each new floater takes about a year to create.

"The payoff is seeing 3 million jaws dropping and 6 million eyes popping," he said. "Whether you're 3 or 103, you're a kid on Thanksgiving when those balloons go by."

source: upi.com