The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in the heart of New York City on Thanksgiving morning.

The 2.5-mile parade wound through NYC with over 250,000 spectators lining up along the street. Many famous balloons made their appearances, including SpongeBob SquarePants and his pet snail, Gary, Ronald McDonald, and The Pillsbury Dough Boy.

Freshman Logan Wilkins said, “My favorite thing about the Macy’s Day Parade was seeing celebrities and characters who my family and I have grown up with who have been a part of my childhood.”

He also added that he loved to see the different cultures and music that was played during the parade.

There were over 60 floats and balloons in the lineup of the parade. This included a 55-foot tall Snoopy and a Santa’s Sleigh that measured to be around 60-feet long.

Despite the rain in New York during the parade, many famous performers were in the show, including Idina Menzel, the Rockettes, Jennifer Hudson, and Alex Warren.

For many families, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual tradition.

For Logan, his family joins together in the morning to watch the parade. “It has become a regular thing we do because it gives us the opportunity to see and enjoy many different artists, and it is a nice way to begin the holiday every year.”

Santa made a special appearance on the last float to officially bring in the Christmas season.

This has been an annual tradition of the parade since the 1970s. Typically, white confetti is showered upon the crowd when Santa makes his way through New York, but because of the rain this year, there was no confetti.

Before the start of the parade each year, a few Broadway shows perform numbers outside of Macy’s. This year’s included, The Outsiders, Hell’s Kitchen, and the recently-opened show, Death Becomes Her.

Freshman Pia Argueta said that her favorite part of the entire parade was when the Rockettes performed. “I loved their performance because as I am a dancer myself. My goal is to one day become a Rockette, so their dance is always inspiring.”

As well as many famous performers taking part in the show, many schools had the opportunity to have their marching bands perform in the parade.

Each year, the parade selects 10 high school and university schools to perform. This year, 12 bands performed throughout the four-hour parade.