The temperature changes, and the falling leaves mean it is officially Thanksgiving time, and with it, time for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. This year, at the 93rd annual parade, five new balloons made their debut, once again making this one-of-a-kind annual event a success. The newest additions to the parade lineup were Astronaut Snoopy, Green Eggs and Ham, SpongeBob SquarePants and Gary, Smokey Bear, and Love Flies Up to the Sky. 

The 49-foot tall Astronaut Snoopy balloon, dressed in astronaut gear, was designed to honor the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong landing the Apollo 11 on the moon. The Green Eggs and Ham balloon was introduced to publicize Netflix’s growing popularity. This trend of creating balloons to depict beloved shows on Netflix has only just started in recent years but has become one beloved by many. “This is great,” commented senior Jared Morieda in response to the new trend. The balloon displays Sam and Guy traveling together in a giant, green ham. SpongeBob SquarePants took his 15th flight at the parade; however, this time, he brought Gary, his pet snail, to join him on his adventure through NYC. The fourth new balloon was Smokey Bear, who returned to the parade for the first time since 1993 in order to celebrate his 75th birthday. 

Last but not least, the Love Flies Up to the Sky Balloon, created by the famous artist Yayoi Kusama, brought a new flare to the parade. The parade’s executive producer, Susan Tercero stated, “Everyone can look at her art and appreciate it, understand it, and feel something from it, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” stated Tercero in an article with the Daily Mail entitled “Instagram-beloved Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama, 90, becomes the first ever woman to design  balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as she debuts her funky 2019 creation.” This balloon signifies her intuitive artistic ability and is said to have at least 300 hand-painted dots. These new additions provided onlookers with fun, new visuals at the beloved Macy’s parade this year.

Besides these five balloons, there were a significant number of balloons making a reappearance from years past. Junior Madi Marchetta stated, “Every Thanksgiving, I enjoy spending time with my extended family and look forward to watching the parade, which is a tradition in my family.” Junior Ally Fitzgerald, agreed with this, stating, “My family loves to watch the parade and we’ve even gone to watch it in person several times!” 

These fresh additions to the balloon lineup provided a hint of unexpected excitement for parade watchers all over the world. As always, this year’s parade was a hit, exciting those living in NYC and those watching from all around the world.