The "Don't Stand on the Corners" Edition

Thanksgiving Parade tips, where to get the candy from Squid Game, the #1 new restaurant in America is in NYC, we are nearing FULL BEAN, and more

Nov 21, 2021

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far and my favorite part of it has always been the parade. I’ve only not been at the parade on Thanksgiving day twice in my life. I wasn’t there in 1981 because I was less than two months old and last year there was no parade to attend.

This year I’m extremely excited to break out my electric socks (the one time a year I wear them), look for a hot chocolate near the parade route, and stand in the same spot for 3 hours while celebrities pass me by and wonder “what does this person even do?,” push myself up onto my tippy toes to see what the next balloon or float is, giggle to myself when marching bands from traditionally warm-weather states march and shiver their way down Sixth Ave, and see Santa (being excited to see Santa was always a very weird experience as a Jewish kid) to finally exclaim “It’s over, let’s get outta here!”

A few tips from me and relevant links for the parade:

You can attend the balloon inflation on Wednesday if you’re vaccinated. It makes a really nice date option. (Jen Chung for Gothamist)
When you’re on your date to the balloon inflation outside of the American Museum of Natural History you can look like a smarty pants by pointing to the statue of Teddy Roosevelt and saying “Did you know that statue is going to be moved to North Dakota?” When your date asks how you could know such a wonderful fact you can turn to them and say “I read it in The Briefly.” (Jen Carlson for Gothamist)
The intimate photo of Spider-Man and Uncle Sam balloons is from the inflation event in 2012. (Russ Burlingame for ComicBook.com)
Parade routes, times, transit changes, and travel times. (Gus Saltonstall for Patch)
From 1927 through 1932, the balloons were released at the end of the parade. If you found one and sent it back to Macy’s, you would win a $100 gift certificate, which is about $1,500 in today’s money. (Justin Rivers for Untapped New York)
At the parade, it’s always the most crowded on street corners. Make your way to the center of the block.
You’ll gain an appreciation for the slopes of the city’s sidewalks. If you’re not with kids, take a step away from the street and realize that you’re more elevated than the folks from Ohio trying to get a photo of their kid in a marching band with their iPad held above their heads.
No one person will know who all of the celebrities are. This year there’s a South Korean K-pop band, country singers, one of the people from Glee, Foreigner, the three different hosts of Blue’s Clues, a German pop singer, the guy who was featured on Santana’s Smooth, the cast of Girls5Eva, and more. Everyone will recognize one or more people and it is their jobes to inform everyone around them who the hell those people are.
The Big Apple Circus still exists after both announcing it would shut down in 2016, (Rebecca Fishbein for Gothamist) and Grandma the Clown’s resignation in 2018 after it came out that he pressured a teenager into posing for nude photos. (Andy Newman for NY Times)
You’ll always hear that high winds could ground the balloons. It has never happened.
If you catch it just right, you can see the animals being cared for outside of Radio City before the Christmas Spectacular. Ever see a camel on a NYC street?

• "Choo! Choo!" in a headline is a perfect way to ensure I'll link to an article. (Jen Chung for Gothamist)

• We are almost at full bean. Can you believe it? Full bean! (Michael Young for New York YIMBY)

• Photos: The Brooklyn Botanical Garden's "Lightscape" after-dark experience. Bonus: There's drone video too. (Jen Carlson with photos by Jake Dobkin for Gothamist)

• The best sufganiyot (round jelly doughnuts) in NYC for Hanukkah or if you want one. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)

• Congrats to Dhamaka, the number one new restaurant in America according to Esquire. (Matt Troutman for Patch)

• Video: Exploring Macy's and their 2021 holiday windows. (ActionKid on YouTube)

• CNN tried to use Tesla's "full self-driving" mode on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. Hilarity ensued. (Matt McFarland for CNN)

• 11 restaurants that serve dalgona candy, the candy from Squid Game. (Caroline Shin for Eater)

A big thank you to the three generous readers who used the Ko-Fi link in the footer of this edition to contribute to The Briefly.