The holiday season is here, and the furry monsters of Sesame Street are gearing up for a musical extravaganza at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day ParadeThanksgiving is upon us, and in New York City, it’s time to celebrate a long-loved tradition: the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The two-and-a-half-mile parade—which was first held in 1924—features massive balloons of well-known characters and culminates with an appearance by St. Nick himself, signaling the beginning of the Christmas season.
Of course, this time-honored tribute to Americana and pop culture wouldn’t be complete without the Sesame Street float, which has enchanted parade-goers and TV audiences since 1974.
The Sesame Street gang, including Bob and Maria, and beloved furry monsters such as Elmo and Big Bird, will once again ride on the float this very special year, which marks the show’s 40th anniversary.
“Sesame Street has become part of the fabric of American culture with its 40th anniversary. And so has this parade,” says Sonia Manzano, who has been playing Maria on the show since 1972. “It’s been the backdrop of so many movies, like Miracle on 34th Street. So it’s a nice little blend of us and the parade.”
Sesame Street’s theme for its float this year is What Makes Music, which corresponds to the spirit of NAMM, the International Music Products Association, which is sponsoring this year’s float. Ten children will play musical instruments on the float—they will play the song “What Makes Music” and segue into the classic Sesame Street anthem “Sing,” which was written by the late Joe Raposo.
“We’re very, very excited about it,” says Sesame Street Creative Director Kevin Clash, who has also been Elmo’s puppeteer since 1983. “We get together and talk about what Sesame Street would like the theme to be. Since we’re celebrating the 40th, we tried to find a song that was celebratory.”
“The gist of ‘What Makes Music’ is that anyone can make music,” says Bob McGrath, who has played the part of Bob Johnson since the show’s very first episode in 1969. “You don’t have to have taken lessons for 10 years to be involved in music. Anything makes music.”
“It’s a wonderful way of celebrating Thanksgiving—it’s a wonderful tradition,” says Clash. “All the Muppets from the show are there. And then, from there, go and eat turkey!”
40 YEARS OF THANKSGIVING MEMORIES
Sesame Street’s involvement in the parade has been different from year to year. One time, Manzano laughs, there was no float—the cast crammed into a little silver car.
“It used to be very casual,” she smiles. “I remember [the late] Northern Calloway, who played David, lived on 83rd Street. The cast used to get up early and meet. But David would just wait until the float went by his apartment and then he’d run up onto the float. This was before security. Also, in the old days, you could get off the float and shake hands. And they used to go crazy. And then we’d get back on the float.”
“Also, we used to just all sing in unison,” she continues. “And then we started having specific lines to sing, which is a little more complicated, of course. The director has to find you on the float so that your mouth is moving when your voice is being heard.”
The float has changed over the years, but one thing that’s remained the same is people’s enthusiasm for and love of Sesame Street.
“Everybody becomes children when this float comes in sight and they start hearing the Sesame Street theme,” says McGrath. “And you see cops laughing and dancing and practically doing spins on the street. They all turn into 5-year-olds, which is great fun to see. It’s a wonderful, wonderful parade. I’ve done a lot of parades over the years and I don’t think anything could top the Macy’s Parade. The enthusiasm of New Yorkers on Thanksgiving is really quite incredible. It doesn’t matter what the weather is, it’s still great fun.”
FAMOUS CHEERS
Celebrities get star-struck, too—and the cast of Sesame Street is no exception. Some cast members’ fondest parade memories are of seeing other celebrities cheer them on.
“A lot of celebrities that are on the different floats will always come to our float to say hi,” Clash says. “They love Sesame Street. It was always wonderful to see Willard Scott drive past in his golf cart and wave at us. A lot of the NBC people we know—like Al Roker and Matt (Lauer)—stop at our float to say hi.”
“I certainly remember Danny DeVito—who is a great fan of Sesame Street—yelling ‘Maria!’ from the window of where he was watching the parade on Fifth Avenue,” says Manzano. “We always look up to see celebrities. We think we saw Catherine Zeta-Jones once!”
“One time we were going by the Dakota—that big apartment building on Central Park West,” McGrath recalls. “There was an apartment on the first floor with gigantic floor-to-ceiling windows. Leonard Bernstein was just standing there in his beautiful silk morning jacket. He started blowing us kisses.”
“We’ve been doing the show for 40 years, and we’re all thankful for that,” McGrath adds. “And, also, the wonderful things that are happening with the international productions in places such as Bangladesh, Kosovo, South Africa—that’s wonderful and I am thankful for that.”
“I’m thankful for Sesame Street for being around for 40 years and hopefully more. That’s what I’m very thankful for,” adds Clash.
And what is Elmo thankful for this year?
“That everybody’s happy. And healthy.”
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