With a massive blast of hot air, New Yorkers geared up to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday watching the stars of today’s show get ready for their annual run down Broadway.
Families like the Fernandezes from Scotch Plains, NJ, gathered on the Upper West Side last night to see the annual balloon inflation before the big parade.
“It’s the first time we’ve been able to make it,” said Ellen Fernandez, 50, who brought her grandsons, Carson, 7, and Jake, 10, who were amazed to get up-close views of the huge balloons.
“I really like Pikachu,” said Carson, a huge fan of Pokémon characters.
Andrea Jones, 45, brought her family from Pasadena, Calif., to see the parade, and started the holiday by bringing her family to see the night-before inflation.
“I’ve been planning this trip since December of last year,” Jones said. “It’s all based on the parade.”
For some, the holiday is all about the food – lots and lots of food.
Tim Janus, 30, a New York day trader and “competitive eater,” will spend his holiday attempting to beat 15 other contestants in a turkey-eating competition.
“My stomach is elastic,” said Janus, who warmed up for the bird-eating gig by wolfing down a 10-pound turkey, 32 ounces of cranberry sauce, four pounds of mashed potatoes, at least two pounds of green beans and an entire pumpkin pie.
“It’s not the size of the man, it’s the size of the fight inside the man,” said Janus, who hardly tips the scales at 160 pounds, but has won competitive-eating contests in several categories – tiramisu, cannolis, ramen noodles, burritos and marshmallow peeps.
Tails were wagging in SoHo yesterday, as homeless pets were treated to their very own “Barksgiving.”
“It’s a great opportunity to highlight the fact that dogs do not have homes, and to encourage folks to adopt,” said Jennifer Bristol, director of Animal Haven SoHo, a new no-kill shelter.
About 10 dogs – some wearing pilgrim hats – chowed down on donated food at the shelter.
About 500 pounds of food – turkey, beef, vegetables and rice – were donated by dog-food company Freshpet.