An annual tradition of the holiday season, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has taken to the streets of New York City since 1924.
In a handful of those more than 85 years, drum corps have taken center stage in front of the Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street, performing for millions during national television broadcasts.
Pride of Drum Corps All-Stars
When: Thursday, November 28, 1991
Who: 400 members from DCI and DCA drum corps
Corps followed: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a ’61 Cadillac convertible
Played: "Tenderloin" from "Little Old New York," “Auld Lang Syne”
Followed by: Dancing Tasmanian Devil float
Summer Music Games All-Star Drum & Bugle Corps
When: Thursday, November 24, 1994
Who: An all-star group of DCI and DCA drum corps members
Corps followed: Chloe the Holiday Clown balloon
Played: “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “Stars and Stripes Forever,” “Auld Lang Syne”
Followed by: Big Bird balloon
The Cadets
When: Thursday, November 24, 2005
Who: Members of the corps’ 2005 World Championship-winning drum corps
Corps followed: Pokemon balloon
Played: “Swing, Swing, Swing”
Followed by: Four-story tall drummer boy balloon and Miss USA 2005
Madison Scouts
When: Thursday, November 27, 2014
Who: Madison Scouts’ “Corps of Brothers” featuring current and alumni members representing seven decades of the organization
Corps followed: Spongebob Squarepants balloon
Played: Holiday arrangement of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”
Followed by: Macy’s elf balloons and Santa Claus
Special Mention
A number of drum and bugle corps prior to the DCI era are known to have marched down the streets of New York City including the Hawthorne Caballeros (seen above in 1972) who have performed in the Macy’s Parade more than a dozen times between between the 1950s and early 1970s.