Who Performed at the Very First Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade?

Lauren Novak November 26, 2025

Santa Claus, star of annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade waves a greeting to spectators — Hal Mathewson/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

What To Know

The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 1924 was organized mainly by Macy’s employees, many of whom were first-generation immigrants, and was originally called the Macy’s Christmas Parade.
Entertainment included four handmade nursery rhyme-themed floats, clowns, cowboys, tumblers, live animals from the Central Park Zoo, and performances featuring actors as comic strip characters.
Musical acts featured a jazz band of African American employees, a clown band, a 75-piece military band, and a drum and bugle corps, with the parade ending in a Santa appearance and whimsical store display.

This year marks the 101st anniversary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, and for many of us, it’s hard to imagine the holiday without the parade, which marks the occasion with floats and musical performances. Yet when the very first parade took place, on November 27, 1924, it looked quite different from what we know today. To begin with, it wasn’t called a Thanksgiving parade; instead, Macy’s billed it as the Macy’s Christmas Parade, a celebration for the newly expanded Herald Square store.

And instead of being filled with celebrities, the first parade was mostly planned by Macy’s employees. Many of these employees were first-generation immigrants to the United States, who infused the parade with memories of the neighborhood festivals their families had celebrated in their home countries. The parade did involve live music — most of it played by Macy’s employees. It also involved live animals.

What was the first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade like?

There were only four floats that first year, all based on nursery rhymes like The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe and Three Men in a Tub. Macy’s artists built them all by hand. Between the floats were clowns, cowboys, tumblers and performers who were simply there to make the crowd laugh. At the end of the route, Santa met an estimated 10,000 people outside the store before climbing a ladder to sit on the Throne of Gold above the entrance. He then revealed a whimsical display called The Fairyfolk Frolics of Wonderland.

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1947

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection

Who performed at the first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade?

That first parade featured four very different bands. One was a jazz band composed of Macy’s African American employees, while the other was a clown band composed of other Macy’s staffers. A 75-piece military band anchored the more traditional sections of the route, and a drum and bugle corps powered through the city streets.

In addition to live music, Macy’s borrowed live animals from the Central Park Zoo, including camels, monkeys and lions. They were supervised by Walter F. Donor, a former circus ringmaster who had become Macy’s assistant superintendent of delivery. He even staged a wrestling match between two grizzly bears in an open cage. Performers brought comic strip favorites to life, such as Krazy Kat, Ignatz Mouse, Mutt and Jeff, Silk Hat Harry and Humpty Dumpty. The parade had been such a hit that Macy’s planned to make it an annual event.