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97 PARADES AND COUNTING!
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in: Lineups, 1990s Parades, 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 71st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1997)

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The 71st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 27, 1997, in New York City and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to noon EST. It was hosted by Katie Couric, Willard Scott, and Al Roker. The lineup featured 14 giant balloons, 18 novelty balloons, 21 floats, six toy floats, seven falloons, 14 marching bands, 44 clown units, stars from stage, screen, and television, and the one-and-only Santa Claus.

Overview[]

The 1997 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade kicked off at 77th Street and Central Park West under sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s. The main concern of the day surrounded described as “gale-force” by meteorologists, which caused extensive damage to the balloons. Several measures were arranged to reduce the possibility of accidents, such as inflating the balloons less to reduce their buoyancy, flying them at a lower angle, and recruiting extra handlers; Macy’s officials even insisted the winds were subsiding.[1] Despite the organizer’s efforts, seven of the 14 giant balloons in the lineup were sidelined due to either punctures or a safety concern.

Joining the ranks were four new giant balloons—Arthur, from the namesake PBS show and book series; Tommy, Chuckie, and Spike of Rugrats fame, who debuted as the first-ever three-character balloon; Bumpé the laplandic cow, and Macy’s own Petula Pig. Floats themed to The Sound of Music, Annabelle’s Wish, and Anastasia made their debut, joining other floating stages that featured the likes of Shari Lewis (in her final Parade appearance), The Backstreet Boys, Tim McGraw, and Hal Linden, who played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Following the Parade, most of the media’s attention was given to the balloon accidents. Sonic the Hedgehog and Flying Fish were grounded before they reached the starting line, while the Pink Panther, Quik Bunny, and Barney were all battered by obstacles along the route. The final two balloons in the lineup—Eben Bear and Petula Pig—were grounded as a safety precaution.[1]

The most serious accident, however, involved the Cat in the Hat balloon. Wind gusts at the intersection of 72nd Street and Central Park West blew the balloon into a lamppost, sending the cross-section into the crowd. Four people were injured, with one woman experiencing head trauma that left her in a coma for a month. The accident caused a mayoral task force to reconsider how the balloons would fly, eventually settling on new regulations that were put in place the following year.

Regardless of the day’s harrowing events, the event ended as it always had; Santa Claus rode into Herald Square on his majestic snow goose sleigh, unofficially kicking off the holiday season and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

Parade Lineup[]

Listed below are the parade elements that appeared in the 1997 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They are categorized by unit type, with their respective sponsors in bold. Home locations of talent ensembles are featured in brackets, and the guest star’s float appearances are indicated in bold.

Bold denotes a new parade element, an underline indicates a unit that was brought back after an absence, a strikethrough signifies a parade unit that was sidelined before or during the march, and an asterisk (*) indicates an element that was retired after the 1997 Parade.

Balloons[]

Giant Balloons[]

Novelty Balloons[]

Floats[]

Specialty Units[]

Toy Floats[]

Marching Bands[]

  • Butler High School Golden Tornado Marching Band (Butler, PA), performed "Karn Evil 9"
  • North Hagerstown High School Hub Band (Hagerstown, MD)
  • Concord High School Marching Minutemen (Elkhart, IN)
  • Miami Central High School Marching Rockets (Miami, FL), performed "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You," "Celebration," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," and "God Bless America"
  • Pinson Valley Marching Chiefs (Pinson, AL), performed "Comedy Tonight"
  • Allen Eagle Escadrille (Allen, TX), performed "Deep in the Heart of Texas"
  • Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band (Trumbull, CT)
  • Jones County Junior College Maroon Typhoon Band (Ellisville, MS), performed "Free"
  • Westwood High School Longhorn Marching Band (Memphis, TN), performed "Memphis Blues" and "Jailhouse Rock"
  • Port Chester High School Marching Band (Port Chester, NY), performed "Tonight"
  • Monache High School Marauder Band (Porterville, CA)
  • NYPD Marching Band (New York, NY), performed "42nd Street"
  • Southwest DeKalb High School Marching Panthers (Decatur, GA)
  • Parkway Central High School Marching Colts (Chesterfield, MI), performed "Jingle Bells Medley"

Guest Stars[]

  • Parade Official Jean McFaddin
  • Shari Lewis and Charlie Horse, sang "I Love the Macy's Parade" (Tom Turkey)
  • Six Nation Iroquois Confederacy (Soaring Spirits Canoe)
  • The Cast of Sesame Street, sang "Rubber Duckie" (Sesame Street)
  • Hal Linden (Alice in Wonderland)
  • Rebecca Luker and the Broadway Cast of The Sound of Music, sang "My Favorite Things" (The Sound of Music)
  • Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen with Children Around the World, performed "Give a Little Love" (World of Wiggle)
  • Deborah Gibson, sang "Only In My Dreams" (Chocolate Colorworks)
  • Kristian Alfonso, Joe Mascolo, Linda Dano, Joseph Barbara, Clive Robertson and Susan Ward (Sea Veture)
  • Cathy Rigby, sang "Never Never Land" (Peter Pan's Pirate Ship)
  • Anastasia Characters, sang "A Rumour In St. Petersburg" (Anastasia)
  • Barney, Baby Bop and B.J., sang "Imagine" (Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie)
  • Tim McGraw, sang "Where the Green Grass Grows" (Westward Ho!)
  • Backstreet Boys, sang "As Long as You Love Me," accompanied by Hip Hop Kidz (The Future from Here)
  • Vicki Lewis, sang "Join the Circus" (Mr. Peanut's Circus)
  • Broadway Cast of Smokey Joe's Café, sang "I'm a Woman" (Party Time!)
  • Wynonna Judd with Boys and Girls Clubs of Newark, sang "Change the World" (America's Promise)
  • John Tesh and the Broadway Cast of Forever Tango, performed "Spanish Steps" (A United World)
  • Kym Hampton and Teresa Weatherspoon (Big Apple)[2]
  • John McDonough, The All New Captain Kangaroo, sang "There's Nothing Like a Holiday" (Snow Family Holiday)
  • Randy Travis and Beth Nielsen Chapman, sang "Friends Like Us" (Annabelle's Wish)
  • Liz Callaway, sang "Gotta Go See Santa Claus" (Macyland Express)
  • Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)

Costumed Characters[]

Performance Groups[]

Pre-Parade Acts[]

  • America Sings!, performed "Dancing in the Streets"
  • Chicago, performed "We Both Reached for the Gun"
  • Street Corner Symphony, performed "Proud Mary," "Soul Man," "1-2-3," and "Love Train"
  • Titanic, performed "The Landing"
  • Side Show, performed "We Share Everything"
  • The Radio City Rockettes, performed "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers"

Clowns[]

Clown Vehicles[]

Incidents[]

Winds in New York City on Thanksgiving Day 1997 were described as “gale-force,” giving the balloons and their handlers their roughest go in years.[1] According to readings from the National Weather Service’s Central Park monitoring station, wind speeds during the three-hour Parade were 20 mph sustained with 43mph gusts at 9 a.m., 26 mph sustained with 40 mph gusts at 10 a.m., 12 mph sustained with 25 mph gusts at 11 a.m., and 14 mph sustained with 33 mph gusts at noon.[3] Below are the incidents that occurred in that timeframe.

  • The Arthur balloon’s left arm was punctured by Central Park trees;[4] its left ear was later deflated by billboard lights near 42nd Street.[5][6]
  • Pilgrim Man’s hat was blown off by the winds.
  • Garfield’s tail was deflated overnight. The balloon’s back right paw was also damaged.[7]
  • Overnight gusts of wind “shredded” the Flying Fish balloon.[8]
  • The Pink Panther balloon experienced turbulence along the Parade route before being torn open by a traffic light at 42nd Street.[1] The collapse of the balloon prompted NYPD officers to stab and sideline the balloon.[9]
  • Quik Bunny’s left ear was deflated by Central Park trees and later snagged on a street light in Times Square. The impact tore the balloon’s hat open, leaving pieces of balloon fabric wrapped around the pole. The balloon was eventually removed at 36th Street.
  • The Barney balloon knocked over a Central Park tree.[3] The balloon went out of control at 51st Street and was eventually shoved into a lamppost, tearing its side. Like the Pink Panther, the balloon was stabbed by NYPD officers for a quick deflation.[10]
  • Sonic the Hedgehog’s head was torn open near Central Park, prompting the balloon’s removal.[3][11]
  • In what has been described as the worst accident in Parade history, the Cat in the Hat balloon struck a lamp post at the intersection of 72nd Street and Central Park West. The falling debris injured four spectators, one of which was left in a month-long coma. The Cat’s signature hat was also deflated after the accident before the balloon’s removal at 36th Street.[1]
  • Spider-Man scraped buildings and trees along the route but survived with deflated hands and feet.[3]
  • Bumpé lost his front toenails along Central Park. The balloon’s rear end was also torn open by a fence in Times Square.[12]
  • The Dad on the Snow Family Holiday float lost his head at 44th Street and Times Square.[13]
  • Eben Bear and Petula Pig were removed at 77th Street as a precautionary measure after the Cat in the Hat accident.[14]
  • The Paddington Bear falloon collapsed near 50th Street but was able to stand upright shortly afterward.[15]
  • The “C” alphabet balloon, Cloe the Holiday Clown, a Flower Ornament, a Pennsylvania Dutch Ornament, and the Ice Stars were removed at various points along the route; their reasons for being sidelined were not stated.

Aftermath[]

The incidents of the 1997 Parade (particularly the Cat in the Hat accident) had a lasting effect on how the event would be staged. A mayoral task force was established to discuss how such accidents could be prevented in the future. Regulations were announced in May 1998 after a five-month review.[16] Among the new rules were balloon size limits—they could not exceed 70 feet tall, 40 feet wide, or 78 feet long. Other changes included grounding giant balloons should sustained winds exceed 23 mph or gusts exceed 34 mph and adding two utility vehicles to each giant balloon (one guide vehicle and one anchor vehicle). Extensive balloon handler training was also introduced, which included classroom and field training.

Kathleen Caronna, the woman left comatose by the Cat in the Hat balloon accident, filed a $395 million lawsuit against Macy’s, the NYPD, the NYCDOT, and other parties involved in the accident. The suit was settled out of court in 2001 for an undisclosed amount.[17]

Trivia[]

  • Shari Lewis made her final Parade appearance in 1997, as she passed away from viral pneumonia on August 2, 1998.
  • 1997 marked the final time Willard Scott would host the NBC telecast opposite Katie Couric; the following year, he was replaced by Matt Lauer.
  • NBC's telecast of the 1997 Parade was sponsored in-part by Wrangler, World of Pooh from Tiger Electronics Learning Aids, Ocean Spray, and Cotton Incorporated.
  • Guest stars interviewed during the NBC broadcast's first hour included Wynonna, Kristian Alfonso and Joseph Mascolo (Days of Our Lives), Linda Dano and Joseph Barbara (Another World), Clive Robertson and Susan Ward (Sunset Beach), and Darrell Hammond (Saturday Night Live).
  • The 1997 Parade's official broadcast won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program, and was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing - Special Class (losing to A Magical Walt Disney World Christmas).[18]

Notes and References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Martin, Douglas, "Macy's Parade of Balloons Get One Thing It Doesn't Need: Wind," The New York Times. November 28, 1997.
  2. ↑ Marc Anothony and the Broadway cast of The Capeman were originally scheduled to appear on the Big Apple float, performing "Satin Summer Nights" for the NBC telecast. The planned appearance caused an uproar over the controversial subject matter of the musical (involving a real-life murderer). Macy's eventually replaced the cast with Kym Hampton and Teresa Weatherspoon of the New York Liberty basketball team (who were originally planned to appear on the Pep Rally float).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 File:Daily News Tue Dec 2 1997 .jpg
  4. ↑ Brdrech's Archive, "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 1997 (Susan Talbott, 72nd & Central Park)" YouTube.com. August 3, 2023.
  5. ↑ File:Arthur-Before-Ear-Puncture.jpeg
  6. ↑ File:Arthur-After-Ear-Puncture.jpeg
  7. ↑ "Local Macy's Workers Battle Gusts, Garfield Parade Balloon Nearly Met with Cat-astrophe Thanks to Windy Weather" The Morning Call. November 29, 1997.
  8. ↑ Hays, Tom. "Cat-in-the-Hat Balloon at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York Knocks Down a Light Pole and Injures Four Spectators" Associated Press. November 27, 1997.
  9. ↑ Lynette Bridges. "In windy Macy's Parade, Pink Panther took us on one wild ride." The Charlotte Observer. December 7, 1997.
  10. ↑ DelhiTheCat. "Thanksgiving '97. The day Barney was killed." YouTube.com. July 23, 2013.
  11. ↑ Williams, Timothy. "New Rules Govern Size of Balloons." The Associated Press. November 26, 1998.
  12. ↑ AP Archive. "USA: NEW YORK: MACY'S ANNUAL THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE." YouTube.com. July 21, 2015.
  13. ↑ Davenport, Tony. "Hit on the head, courtesy of the Cat in the Hat." The Journal News. November 29, 1997.
  14. ↑ "Strong Winds Turn Macy's Parade Vicious." The San Francisco Examiner. November 28, 1997.
  15. ↑ The Barney Vault. "Inside The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade [1999]." YouTube.com. November 25, 2017.
  16. ↑ Polner, Robert. "Balloons Bust." Newsday. May 31, 1998.
  17. ↑ Geller, Andy. "T’GIVING BALLOON VICTIM SETTLES SUIT." New York Post. March 7, 2001.
  18. ↑ The 71st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - Awards. IMDb.com.

See also[]

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