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Huge crowds cheer NYC Thanksgiving Day Parade
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-28 09:42

The Smurf balloon makes its way through Times Square during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, November 27, 2008. [Agencies]

Organizers said more than a million spectators viewed the 82nd annual parade in person, with another 50 million watching on television. The 2.5-mile route winds from Central Park West and West 77th Street to Herald Square, in front of Macy's flagship store.

Crews on Wednesday inflated the 13 giant balloons and 31 smaller ones. Each giant balloon requires more than 5,000 cubic feet of helium, much of which supplier Linde North America intended to recover and recycle, said Nick Haines, the company's helium director for the Americas. Linde tested the process of sucking the gas out of the balloons, compressing it and later purifying it for resale last year.

Among the smaller balloons was a newcomer that pays tribute to graffiti artist Keith Haring, who died in 1990. The parade also featured 28 floats, 10 marching bands and performances by Miley Cyrus, Trace Adkins, James Taylor and the Radio City Rockettes.

"She's just the coolest!" 6-year-old Isabella Muccio said of Cyrus.

The parade, which began in 1924 and was canceled for two years during World War II, also provided a coveted yearly spotlight for Broadway productions. This year, cast members of "Hair," "In the Heights," "The Little Mermaid," "South Pacific" and "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" were featured.

"I'm so excited! ... The crowds, just seeing it in person!" said parade-goer Phyllis Grodnicki of Plainsboro, N.J.

The atmosphere along the route was upbeat and jovial despite the nation's economic downturn. "It's something you can do with your kids for free," said Martha Muccio of Manalapan, N.J. "And it makes them happy, takes our minds off everything."

In Detroit, thousands braved near-freezing temperatures in hats, mittens and scarves to stake prime spots to view the city's parade, which has been held for more than 80 years.