John’s Of Time Square

We were in Time Square and it was 11 o’clock, time for lunch. Holan suggested we have pizza at John’s of Times Square. She had eaten there before and the restaurant has been voted one of New York’s best pizzas because of its unique characteristics. We arrive just as they opened and were seated at a […]

Oak and Ash Escalators

Macy’s has just finished a $400 million, four-year renovation on their the flagship store at Herald Square. On Black Friday, we were looking at the Christmas decorations, a $400+ pair of floral flat shoes and designer departments we have not seen at our local Macy’s. As we explored, we discovered wooden escalators on the upper […]

Spectacular Show

The   show continued with a breathless tap routine to “The 12 Days of Christmas,” a teddy bear ballet to excerpts from “The Nutcracker” and the signature exercise in synchronicity called “The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers.” In that scene, they end with what looks like a conga line, only to tip flat onto their […]

Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour

To say we were disappointed in this Stage Door tour is an understatement. We were all crowded into a small room looking down on the theater itself through a glass window. The Great Stage is framed by a huge proscenium arch that measures 60 feet high and 100 feet wide. A vast new gold-threaded curtain […]

Irish Pub and Turkey?

Our first night in town we walked down the street from our hotel to Playwrights Act III Irish Pub. Playwright’s menu features Irish & American style dishes, deliciously paired with any beer, cocktail or wine. The hotel and Playwrights was located just blocks from Macy’s & Madison Square Garden/Penn Station. We had a very nice dinner, enjoyed some […]

Floats and Celebrities

At the hotel we were told to move away from Herald’s Square to watch the parade because this area is blocked off for the NBC telecast and not accessible to the public. The grandstand seating you see on television is for Macy’s employees, family members and parade partners. In 1924, originally known as Macy’s Christmas Parade, […]

Performance Groups

The group performers, and bands make the parade a parade of America, making it feel like a hometown occasion. There are 8,000 total participants (approximately 4,000 of which are Macy’s employees, including clowns, marching bands, dancers, balloon handlers and big-name performers. Many of these volunteers are doctors, nurses, advertising executives, social media managers of course […]

Just Clowning Around!

In the 89th Macy’s parade there were more than a thousand clowns dancing and throwing confetti down the streets of New York. These pictures cannot show the interaction the clowns had with the spectators as they marched. To be a clown in the parade, you have to attend Clown U or do an online clown […]

Send in the Balloons!!

The balloons looked a lot different from last night. The netting and sandbags had been removed and the balloons, without much wind, were allowed to flying high. If the Kool-Aid Man Balloonicle were an actual pitcher of Kool-Aid there would be over 10,000 gallons to share. He is high as 3 story building, as wide […]

SSSHHHH…It’s the Quite Zone

On Thursday morning the guys left the hotel at 5:30 to stake out a place for us to watch the parade. They found a very nice area at the barricades among trees and small shrubs with a small fence marking off the area. Red and green Christmas ribbon was quickly put out to mark off […]