The Cornucopia, also known as the Bountiful Harvest Cornucopia is a Thanksgiving-themed float from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
The Cornucopia float made its debut in the 1993 Macy's Parade, as a beautiful culinary representation of the holiday season. The 38-foot long unit is adorned with six-foot wide apples, plums and pears. In its center lies a horn of plenty, overflowing with grapes, cherries, acorns, and other earthly delights. Completing the scene was a group of children dressed as pilgrims, Native Americans and woodland animals. Furnishing the 21-foot tall cornucopia was the American Express Company.
The Thanksgiving marvel made three consecutive appearances in the Parade, and was retired following the 1995 Parade. It would return to the lineup in 1998, now sponsored by Macy's themselves.
It has since made on-again, off-again appearances in the line of march, being sponsored by several brands. In 2000, Verizon sponsored the float. The following year, Radio City Entertainment furnished the float to promote their production of A Christmas Carol, with the cast including Tim Curry, on board. Delta Air Lines sponsored the float in 2005, and Cotton Incorporated furnished the float in 2007.
The Cornucopia float made its most recent appearance in the 2019 Macy's Parade, overflowing with fall's favorite fruits as a group of pumpkin pickers rounded out the Thanksgiving tableau.
Though the float was initially scheduled to appear in the reimagined 2020 Parade, it would be pulled from the lineup in the weeks leading up to the Parade as a result of rising COVID-19 cases in the New York area, resulting in a reduction of participants.
Guest Stars[]
Listed below are the guest stars that have performed/appeared on the Cornucopia float, alongside the respective songs which they sang during the NBC broadcast.
- 1993 - Stevie Wonder, sang "Take The Time Out"
- 1994 - Judy Collins, sang "Simple Gifts"
- 1995 - LL Cool J with the Boys Choir of Harlem, sang "Take The Time Out"
- 1998 - Eric McCormack and Debra Messing
- 2000 - Emeril Lagasse
- 2001 - Tim Curry and the Cast of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, sang "God Bless Us Everyone"
- 2003 - Judy Collins, sang "Trust Your Heart"
- 2005 - Michael Feinstein and The Highbridge Voices, sang "My Gift of Thanks"
- 2007 - Cherokee National Youth Choir, sang "Jingle Bells"
- 2009 - Kermit the Frog and Tiffany Thornton, sang "I Believe"
- 2010 - Betty Buckley, sang "Blue Skies"
- 2013 - Cherokee National Youth Choir, sang "Alleluia"