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The 29th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1955) | The 30th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1956) | The 31st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1957) | 
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The 30th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 22, 1956, in New York City beginning at 9:45 a.m. and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 11 a.m. to noon EST. It was hosted by Ernie Kovacs. The lineup featured three giant helium balloons, nine floats, 12 marching bands, and the one-and-only Santa Claus.
Parade Lineup[]
Listed below are the parade elements that appeared in the 1956 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 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, and an asterisk (*) signifies an element that was retired after the 1956 Parade.
Balloons[]
Gorgeous Gobbler(Macy's) - 3rd time- Mighty Mouse* (Terrytoons) - 6th time
Observer Balloon(Macy's) - 1st time
Floats[]
- Amazon Queen (Macy's) - 1st time
- Flower Float* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Candyland* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Starlight Starbright* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Animal Cage* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Santa's Workshop* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Circus* (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Cinderella (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Here Comes Santa Claus* (Macy's) - 3rd time
Specialty Units[]
- NYPD Mounted Unit - 30th time
- Chuck Wagon* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Bandwagon* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Hay Wagon* (Macy's) - 1st time
Guest Stars[]
- Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (Chuck Wagon)
- Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney (Amazon Queen)
- Buster Crabbe and Cullen Crabbe
- Spike Jones (Bandwagon)
- Edie Adams, Peter Palmer, Charlotte Rae, Joe E. Marks, Stubby Kaye, and Salome the Pig (Hay Wagon)
- Billy Gilbert (Candyland)
- Basil Rathbone, Martyn Green, and Dennis Kohler (Starlight Starbright)
- Colonel Hugh Standish and 77th Begnal Lancers
- Herb Sheldon (Animal Cage)
- Dan Tempest
- Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)
Performance Groups[]
- TV Guide-ettes
Incidents[]
- Gorgeous Gobbler and the Observer balloons were both deflated and damaged in separate accidents.
- Mighty Mouse barely survived the winds, as the balloon nearly crashed at Columbus Circle. The balloon did arrive at Herald Square, just mere seconds before finally succumbing to the winds and deflating.