Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in Overland, Missouri, that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals and characters. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice is assembled and tailored to their own preferences during their visit to the store. Build-A-Bear Workshop is the largest chain that operates in this style. The company has been acclaimed for the quality of its working environment, especially for teenagers who are just starting their first jobs. The company's slogan was "Where Best Friends Are Made" from 1997-2013 when it was changed to "The Most Fun You'll Ever Make". As of January 2022, the company's president/CEO is Sharon Price John.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Build-A-Bear's history with the Macy's Parade began in 2002, with a float entitled "Teddy Bear's Workshop". The float features a giant teddy bear, dubbed "Teddy Roosevelt" getting stuffed, fluffed, stitched and everything thing else necessary to create a Build-A-Bear plush toy, all done by miniature teddy bears. The float made a grand total of five appearances, before retiring after the 2006 Parade. Despite this float's retirement, many of the bears are still used as decor around Macy's Parade Studio.
The following year, a new float, dubbed "International CeleBEARation Clock Tower", debuted. The float was themed around and served as a message universal goodwill, with bears dressed in and participating in historical Parisian, Dane, Chinese, Norwegian, and German clothing and activities. The float became the longest-running Build-A-Bear float, making eight appearances in total. It was retired shortly after the 2014 Parade. Much like the previous float, some bears from this float are also used in decor around the Parade Studio.
In early 2015, plans of a new Build-A-Bear float were in development. Within the span of five months, the engineers and craftspeople at Macy's Parade Studio constructed an all-new float for that year's Parade, which would be titled "Discover Adventure!". The front view of the float begins with two bears playfully riding ocean waves, while a sailboat captained by a Sailor Bear rocks gently overhead. A castle featuring Build-A-Bear’s icon, Bearnard, serves as the centerpiece, complete with a friendly, smoke-breathing dragon climbing up to see a Princess Bear, who showers the crowds with confetti. The sides of the float feature different scenes of wonder and adventure including a classic teddy-bear tea party, as well as a trip to outer space on a rocket ship manned by an Astronaut Bear, who turns his head to gaze upon the world as he flies into the air with bouncing stars. It would make continuous appearances until the 2018 Parade, when it was retired, concluding Build-A-Bear's history with the Parade. One of the tea party bears is now used a decoration at the parade studio
Guest Stars[]
Listed below are the guest stars that have performed/appeared on the float, alongside the respective songs which they sang during the NBC Telecast.
Teddy Bear's Workshop[]
- 2002 - Play; sang "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"
- 2003 - Aaron Carter; sang "One Better"
- 2004 - Raven-Symoné; sang "Backflip"
- 2005 - Aly & AJ; sang "Rush"
- 2006 - Miley Cyrus; sang "Best Of Both Worlds"
International CeleBEARation Clock Tower[]
- 2007 - The Jonas Brothers; sang "S.O.S."
- 2008 - Miranda Cosgrove; sang "About You Now"
- 2009 - Keke Palmer; sang "Top of the World"
- 2010 - Victoria Justice; sang "Freak the Freak Out"
- 2011 - Zendaya; sang "Dig Down Deeper"
- 2012 - Cody Simpson; sang "Wish U Were Here"
- 2013 - Austin Mahone; sang "Banga Banga"
- 2014 - Quvenzhané Wallis and The Cast of Annie; sang "Hard Knock Life"
Discover Adventure[]
- 2015 - Sofia Carson*; sang "Rotten to the Core"
- 2016 - Chloe x Halle; sang "Drop"
- 2017 - Sabrina Carpenter; sang "Why"
- 2018 - John Legend; sang "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
*= Dove Cameron was originally scheduled to appear alongside Sofia Carson, but she was caught with an illness a day before the Parade, and so she had to be pulled from her performance, resulting in Sofia Carson appearing alone.