The 20th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1946)

The 19th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1945)

The 20th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1946)

The 21st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1947)

The 20th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
A newspaper ad for the 1946 Parade.
Date	November 28, 1946
Parade #	20
New Giant Balloons	"The Pilgrim" by Macy's "Panda Bear" by Macy's "The Baseball Player" by Macy's "Candy Cane" by Macy's
New Floats	"American Eagle" by Macy's "Popeye and Olive Oyl" by King Features Syndicate "Hey Diddle Diddle" by Macy's "Twin Giraffes" by Macy's "Old Lady in the Shoe" by Macy's "Donald Duck" by Walt Disney Productions "Pink Elephant" by Macy's "Three Men In a Tub" by Macy's
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The 20^th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 28, 1946 in New York City from 10 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. The lineup featured five giant balloons, 16 floats, six marching bands, and dozens of comic heads.

Parade Lineup

Listed below are the Parade elements that appeared in the 1946 line of march. Each element is listed in their respective categories/sub-categories, with sponsors in bold.

Bold indicates a new Parade element, and * indicates an element that was retired following the 1946 procession.

Balloons

• The Pilgrim* (Macy's) - 1st time
• Panda Bear (Macy's) - 1st time
• Ice Cream Cone* (Macy's) - 2nd time
• The Baseball Player* (Macy's) - 1st time
• Candy Cane* (Macy's) - 1st time

Floats

• American Eagle* (Macy's) - 1st time
• Popeye and Olive Oyl* (King Features Syndicate) - 1st time
• Hey Diddle Diddle* (Macy's) - 1st time
• Twin Giraffes* (Macy's) - 1st time
• Old Lady in the Shoe (Macy's) - 1st time
• Donald Duck* (Walt Disney Productions) - 1st time
• Pink Elephant* (Macy's) - 1st time
• Three Men In a Tub (Macy's) - 1st time
• Big Chief Machee (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Turkey (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Trampoline (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Space Ship (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Santa's Sleigh* (Macy's) - 6th time

Specialty Units

• N.Y. Mounted Police - 20th time
• Comedy Ford* (Macy's) - 1st time
• Animal Cage (Macy's) - 2nd time

Marching Bands

• N.Y. Guard's 17^th Infantry Band (New York City, NY)
• The Ferko String Band (Philadelphia, PA)
• St. Nicholas Band (Jersey City, NJ)

Guest Stars

• William Boyd as "Hopalong Cassidy"

Trivia

• The 1946 Parade was the first to utilize the Parade Route that began at 77th Street and Central Park West. This same route was used for decades until changes to Broadway and Times Square rerouted it in 2009.
• Scenes of the 1947 film classic, Miracle on 34th Street, were shot during the actual Parade. Prior to the event, the film's production team attended a parade planning meeting to verify that the filming of the live event went smoothly.

Defect

• The Baseball Player's shoes were deflated.