Macy’s 86th Thanksgiving Day Parade: The Geeks Have Won

Thursday, I got to be seven years old again.  When I woke up, my parents were watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  My mother was busy preparing dessert for the dinner at a friend’s home, so I got out a limited edition box of Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts (on clearance at the grocery store) and watched the parade in my pajamas, just like I used to back in the 70s when Willard Scott was the host.

So, some observations:

• I came in during the Gibson Guitar float with Jimmy Fallon singing Queen’s “We Will Rock You”.  Nice, a little weird, but kinda funny that no one was playing a guitar…It made me want to go find a Gibson guitar.
• The parade would be better if not for all of those fake cosplayers in the street trying to get their pictures taken by the cameras.
• Spider-Man balloon.  Wimpy Kid balloon.  Pikachu.  Sonic the Hedgehog.  Hello Kitty.  Spongebob.  Papa Smurf.  Sesame Street.  Power Rangers dancing in front of Macy’s.  TMNTurtles on a float.  Snoopy’s Doghouse.  It sure beats the days when all there was, was a crappy Marvel Superheroes float!  And if that wasn’t geeky enough: the Fred Hill Briefcase Drill Team!
• More geeky?  You can’t really beat Stagedoor Manor!  A performing arts “training center” (a theater camp), these all-American kids performed a song from “Yes, Virginia, the Musical“, showcasing the variant Santas from around the world.  I wonder what Alan Moore would do with such a lineup?  Macy’s is promoting the musical royalty-free, encouraging schools and theaters around the country to stage the production!  We’ve already seen two Geek Gods come from Stagedoor (Tony Stark, Queen Amidala), so who knows if one of these singers will be appearing in Hall H in the coming years?
• More geekery?  650 dancers in black-and-white costumes, dancing to a Lady Gaga medley of music.  Plus lots of band geeks from across the country.  One even wore sci-fi soldier outfits! (I know people think it weird, but I love it when a hit song gets adapted by a marching band!)
• Art geekery!  The Blue Sky Gallery invites contemporary artists to design a parade balloon.  Past parades have included Murakami, Tim Burton, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, and Tom Otterness!  This year, it was KAWS adapting his “Companion” figure to a balloon.  Well, actually, it’s already been a balloon, but not one that floats!  Lest you think a black-and-white balloon of a morose cartoon figure a bit out of place, realize that ten minutes later, Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid character came floating down Sixth Avenue.