I want PARADE, not Broadway and TV skits. - Page 3

just bee · ‎03-10-2010

I'm torn here. I love Thanksgiving but I usually work on this holiday. This year I'm home with a broken hand so I was really looking forward to the parade.

I started watching it on CBS and, after a couple hours, switched to NBC. Now I'm thinking that maybe it's not so bad to work on Thanksgiving.

At least there's the dog show.

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@millieshops wrote:
Who pays for the bands to come halfway across the country to perform? I know it is an honor to be one of the invited bands, but I have no idea who pays, so there could be economic reasons there aren't as many bands as some would like.

Also - given the craziness going on in our nation, are there parents who don't want their children in those crowds away from home?

Aside from the danger aspect, for every band that travels to march in these parades, that's at least a hundred families who don't get to sit around the table for a traditional Thanksgiving, so this thread got me to thinking about the thread yesterday about people who have to work the holiday. When I was a student on band trips, I loved most of them. When I chaperoned student trips - that was work with plenty of responsibility.

I'm not so much a watcher of the parades - I;m a grazer, I guess. I have the parade going, but glance to see the balloons and the floats and I listen to the music, but often from a room without a TV.

@millieshops The bands raise money for their trips, the parents donate, etc. I would love for my child to get to go. There is always danger, but we can't let our kids sit in the house because of it.

deepwaterdotter · ‎03-09-2010

I guess I want Hollywood since I've been watching "Gone With the Wind" on the Sundance channel.

TenderMercies · ‎06-03-2017

Broadway performances have been a part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for 37 years. Other entertainment acts began 60 years ago. At this point, if you haven't figured out what you're going to get when you choose to tune in, then the problem may be yours, not Macy's.

Daisy Sunflower · ‎10-26-2010

Parades don't interest me. I find them boring.

hellokitty · ‎03-09-2010

I agree. I am 62 and used to love the parades. We watched the usual Macy's but there was also the Gimbles (I think) and the Hudson's parade from Detroit on TV. I don't remember as much of the song and dance stuff back then. A lot of performances were on the floats as they went by. I don't like all the theatrics...just want parade.

Cwoldie · ‎03-09-2010

I'd watch any type of parade before I'd spend my thanksgiving watching SG or LR.

occasionalrain · ‎03-10-2010

I don't care for musicals or the scripted cringey commentary so I don't watch any of it.

Nomore · ‎09-09-2010

I turned CBS for the parade, wanted to watch something while cleaning up my bedroom. After about 15 minutes, I turned it to the music channels.

I felt like I was at a movie theater or live concert, where those people behind you hold a lengthy conversation during the whole show, regardless of what's around them. I kept seeing the parade in the background while the hosts were talking on and on to some famous celebrity (don't know who) and every once in awhile, they'd point out a balloon or band or dancers that went by a few minutes before. The broadcast wasn't even about the parade at all. They should have named it E.T. Live in the Morning.

I like watching the Rose Bowl parade especially if there are hosts that know about the flowers used on the floats. Not some giggly male twins who don't know a darn thing about the parade.

When I was a kid, I loved the Fiesta parade in San Antonio, with all those beautiful dresses with trains. All had a meaning to them. We'd go to Joske's downtown Sunday and look at the dresses up close in the windows.

TenderMercies · ‎06-03-2017

@Nomore wrote:
I turned CBS for the parade, wanted to watch something while cleaning up my bedroom. After about 15 minutes, I turned it to the music channels.

I felt like I was at a movie theater or live concert, where those people behind you hold a lengthy conversation during the whole show, regardless of what's around them. I kept seeing the parade in the background while the hosts were talking on and on to some famous celebrity (don't know who) and every once in awhile, they'd point out a balloon or band or dancers that went by a few minutes before. The broadcast wasn't even about the parade at all. They should have named it E.T. Live in the Morning.

I like watching the Rose Bowl parade especially if there are hosts that know about the flowers used on the floats. Not some giggly male twins who don't know a darn thing about the parade.

When I was a kid, I loved the Fiesta parade in San Antonio, with all those beautiful dresses with trains. All had a meaning to them. We'd go to Joske's downtown Sunday and look at the dresses up close in the windows.

Well, you've pointed out something very vaild here. There's a big difference between going to watch a parade live in person and watching it on TV. Around 3.5 million people take to the streets of Manhattan to watch the Macy's Parade, and another 50 million watch it on TV. The entire parade lasts 3 hours. If they put up a couple cameras on the corner and just showed the parade marching by, there wouldn't be any viewers. It would get very boring after about a half hour, and people would tune out. So, they choose Herald Square to be the central location with acts and commentators. I think the bottom line is that if you want to watch a parade like the ones you saw many years ago, your best bet is to go and watch it in person. People these days need a lot more glitzy entertainment to hold their attention to their TV's.