By Lucy Komisar

It’s the 100-year anniversary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade but there were no floats or remembrance of how it started. It was organized by eastern European immigrants working at Macy’s who recalled the winter festivals of their own lands. Immigrants not noticed here.

So, noting my routine avoidance of the commercial floats (eat this junk food, watch this junk tv show), I bring you some of the charm and the gumption of volunteers who marched down Central Park West and Sixth Avenue in an unrelenting downpour!

My favorite was the lumberjack and moose couple. Simple, clever.

And Smokey the Bear is always around to remind about forest fires. Of course, these days he should be surrounded by marchers warning about climate change, since that has exacerbated horrific blazes in California and elsewhere. Smokey needs to be updated.

But I forget, this event is sponsored by corporations, that have other interests.

Yearly favorites are the “Nutcracker” Mouse King and clowns. Beyond the mouse you can see the blue helmet of the “Nutcracker” policeman.

And then the brave marching bands. I wondered if the southerners from South Carolina and Georgia wished they had stayed home!

I liked the sophisticated Mondrian-style costumes of the Avon, Indiana, black and gold marching band. And an interesting train locomotive. I don’t know what it was for, but a gold eagle might have some significance.

Admit I left earlier than in past years because the rain drenched my spirits and threatened my mobile photo-taking phone! So, I didn’t see the protest against the Israeli genocide in Gaza. It lasted for about 5 minutes till police arrested the protestors. But unlike fascist Israel would do, they didn’t murder them.

I suspect the founders of the parade, who were European worker socialists, would have sympathized with the protestors.

Photos by Lucy Komisar. Last photo a screen shot of video on X.