A Clown's Perspective, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Several years back, I was a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. It was one of the most memorable and gratifying experiences of my life. At the time I was a college student working in sales at Macy’s Herald Square, New York.

Approximately 8,000 people march in the annual three-hour extravaganza. Aside from the bands, cheerleaders, and other miscellaneous “guest” performers, over 60% of participants are Macy’s employees and their immediate families! Behind the glossy exterior of the elaborate spectacle with the signature giant character balloons, is the hard work and dedication of the employees.

Participants arrive at Herald Square several hours before the 9 AM start. School buses transport employees from their many store locations and deliver them to the 34th street flagship. They descend from the buses into the swelling crowd of participants. Every few yards throughout the iconic department store, more employees stand as traffic directors, herding the participants into their respective areas. Many employees are from out of state and have no idea where to go or what to expect, but that doesn’t matter. The epic production is extremely well organized and the traffic directors are acutely professional and experienced. We follow the clown signs to the up-escalators, in single file we step onto the small rickety narrow moving stairs. Macy’s Herald Square was built in the 1920’s and the architecture and mechanics have remained untouched.

There are more than 800 clowns in the Macy’s parade! That means 800 wigs, 800 costumes, and 800 faces to paint!

The escalators deposit us onto the “clown” level. A changing area has been set up crammed with rolling racks overflowing with clown costumes. Clown costumes in every color combination imaginable with wigs to match! We quickly change into our festive clown costumes laughing at each other and ourselves then dash off to make-up.

Our make-up studio was in a coffee shop on the same floor, also circa 1920’s; rows of tall marble counters and shiny silver poles topped with spinning red leather seats. Stationed at each stool is a professional make-up artist speedily but expertly transforming employees into clowns! Suddenly we are part of a colorful assembly line with chattering clowns in various stages of make-up!

After make-up, it was back on the bus and a short jaunt up-town to 77th street where the parade begins. As we arrive, we could see the giant character balloons already in the air; and that’s when the 4AM cobwebs left my head completely! The air was electric with excitement. Children and adults lined the streets with faces skyward cheering every sway of the colossal balloons! Yep, this was a big deal.

There were eight of us in my group and our job was to hold down a Macy’s Star Balloon. It took four people to hold down that star! We would rotate every 20 minutes, and believe me, after ten minutes I wanted to set that balloon free! The other 20 minutes we spent greeting the crowds. All along the parade route we were shaking hands and slapping fives! The children were so excited to see a clown close-up, to shake the hand of a clown, to slap five with a clown! Looking up at me were bright eyes filled with wonder and big wide smiles. When I spoke, they exclaimed, “look she’s a girl clown!” The parents are just as caught up in the excitement as the kids. Millions of spectators, an array of diverse multi-cultural peoples, line the streets of New York to watch the parade.
Along the way wedged between the crowds were several children in wheel chairs, some sporting big white casts, and others seemingly seriously ill. It was those parents who shouted the loudest, “over here, over here,” with arms waving frantically through the air. A few seconds of attention from a clown and faces were beaming with pleasure! It was like magic!

When I had applied to participate in the parade it was simply to experience it. I knew that, for me, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The focus of our participation was on our responsibility to hold down that star balloon. The clown costume was simply to blend in with the parade. Interaction with the crowds and the response of the children never entered my mind and no one ever mentioned it either!

The 3-hour, 2.5-mile trek, across 43 blocks of New York City, was over before I knew it! I had gone into the event totally unaffected, but throughout the event I was fully aware that I was experiencing one of the most memorable, gratifying, and humbling experiences of my life.

There were marching bands, fabulous giant character balloons, extraordinary floats, dancers, singers, and various other performers. For the life of me, I do not remember any of them. What I do remember are the little faces beaming up at me with ear-to-ear smiles; some with little hands cupping mouths of laughter! I vividly remember the tears in the eyes of a parent. I can still see the countless smiles and hear the laughter from children of all ages as if it had happened just yesterday. I will remember those magical moments for the rest of my life!

____________________________________________________________