The “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” has become an American tradition in households across the nation. This year, they are celebrating their 85th anniversary and the parade will be shown on Thursday, November 24^th at 9am on NBC. Amy Kule is the executive producer of the parade and Al Roker (from “The Today Show”) will be one of the host for the parade. Shakefire had a chance to talk about the parade details with both Amy and Al.   

Shakefire: Good afternoon Al and Amy! I just wanted to start off by saying that my family watches the parade every year on Thanksgiving morning. Even thought I live in Canada now and Canada usually celebrates Thanksgiving in October, I still watch the parade during American Thanksgiving.

Amy Kule: Hi! That is good to know that you took this tradition with you to Canada and your family enjoys watching the parade every year.

Al Roker: Hi Paul! We want to make this a tradition for everyone and are happy to hear you still tune in.

SF: My first question is what are some of your most memorable and favorite character balloons (past & present) from the parade?

AR: I would have to say Bullwinkle. I am probably giving my age away, but he was always memorable for me. Also, my kids love SpongeBob, so I would pick him too.

AK:  For me it would be Underdog. He was in one of our parades, but he was always my favorite.

AR: There’s no need to fear! Underdog is here!

ALL: (Laughing)

SF: Amy, Are you doing anything new or different this year for the parade?

AK: Of course we are! We have a lot of new talent performing (Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Cee-Lo, Scotty McCreery, and Cobra Starship), new balloons (Sonic the Hedgehog, Julius the Monkey, the Aflac Duck), including a character balloon designed by director Tim Burton named Bee, lots of new floats, Broadway plays (“Spiderman: Turn off the Dark,” “Sister Act,” “How to succeed in business without really Trying,” and “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”) starting off the parade, and a one hour special about the parade and its history.

AR: Also, don’t forget the fact that Ann Curry broadcasting this year will be a lot of fun. Her involvement continues “The Morning Show” tradition of helping with the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.”

SF: Al, what do you think it is about the parade that draws such a big crowd and keeps people coming back to watch it live and at home every year?

AR: I think it has become a part of their lives. Also, the parade kicks off the holiday season and it is clean American fun. It is a tradition everyone remembers and looks forward to. I remember I used to watch it as a 4 year old living in New York. After the parade was over, my family would get dressed up and ready for dinner in anticipation of a great meal with family and friends. We want to be able to duplicate that feeling for future generations.

SF: Amy, How many people are involved with this year’s parade?

AK: We have about 800 clowns, 16 giant character balloons, lots of dancers and performers, and 27 floats just to name a few things. In short, we have a lot of people and support from various organizations.

SF: Al, what are your funniest moments when hosting the parade?

AR: We haven’t had anything overly funny happen during the parade. We did have birds fly awfully close to the character balloons a couple of times. There was one parade where it was raining heavily until Santa’s float was in sight. After that it was clear skies and sunshine. To answer your question, there is nothing really funny happening outside of that, but there are lots of great memories.

SF: Thanks you Al and Amy. I can’t wait to see the parade this year. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

AR: You too Paul! Thank you!

AK: Same to you. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this year’s parade.