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CNN Live Event/Special
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired November 27, 2025 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:34:29]
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It has begun. Tom the Turkey is on the move, ladies and gentlemen, here at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And the crowd goes wild.
Welcome back to "Thanksgiving in America."
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is very exciting to be here. We can see the turkey on the move rolling down Central Park West.
Right there you can see some of New York's finest there getting ready to roll down in advance of that parade. We want to thank all of them for being out here on the streets right now. You're looking at live pictures right now. They are just poised to move down.
[08:35:00]
Everyone here is waiting.
Oh, hi there, doggie.
SIDNER: Sweet. Hi, doggie.
BERMAN: We have -- we have, you know, we have live animals. We've got balloon animals. We've got balloon-acles (ph). We have it all here.
SIDNER: Including Erica Hill and Harry Enten. We've got it all.
Oh, look at how good he's being. He's just sitting there and going to his trainer. Oh, I love the dog, and I know you do too, Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: I do. Do they -- I don't know if -- I don't know if they know just how big a dog lover you are, though, Sara Sidner. If she gets close to that dog, Berman, as you know, look out.
Hey, guys, I know we're separated by a few blocks, but I just wanted to give you a little bag of treats to get you through this incredible "Thanksgiving in America" that we have for all our friends who are joining us this morning. So, I think there's a bag that's being handed to you right now, perhaps, that has some goodies in it for you.
SIDNER: I got it. HILL: You will have to decide, you know, who gets which headgear. I think you should open it now.
BERMAN: Oh!
SIDNER: Oh, my!
HILL: So, as you dig in, I want you to know that there are, you know, some things to keep you warm and toasty on this holiday.
SIDNER: Oh, I see mine.
HILL: I will point out, that one, that lights up. I'll show you -- yes. We'll have a little conversation in the break about how you can light those -- light that turkey leg for yourself as you put it on. So, hats for you guys. I've got some hand warmers, some toe warmers and then some chocolate turkeys in case you need a snack. There's enough for the entire crew up there with you on the upper west side. And I don't want you to feel left out, so, I brought it -- this year I went with a headband. I'm just mixing it up a little bit this year.
BERMAN: Oooh!
SIDNER: You did us such a solid.
HILL: Yes, I did.
BERMAN: Nice. Fantastic.
SIDNER: That is really turkey-tastic.
HILL: Listen --
BERMAN: Well, done.
Oh, look, and then we --
SIDNER: Look, we match.
BERMAN: Tom the Turkey is marching down the street right now. We match Tom. All four of us. Erica, Sara, me and Tom.
HILL: Yes.
BERMAN: All here for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is getting a little out of hand. I think we need to make it more serious.
HILL: Meant to be.
BERMAN: So, let's go to Harry Enten. Let's go -- let's go to Harry Enten right now --
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh, yes.
BERMAN: To sort of --
ENTEN: Guys, yes, you can --
BERMAN: Get serious.
ENTEN: You bring it to me to make it more serious, all right? You know, that's -- that's exactly who I am.
Look, we are at the top of the parade right now. The Super Mario -- Mario just passed us. We've got a slew of folks coming down here right now. The circus, Circus Vazquez, is coming down there as well. We've got a slew of balloons that are coming down. And I will also note here, since I want to kind of turn myself into a host of a morning show, that Clara is eight. It is her birthday today. Happy birthday to Clara here, as we zoom in on it. This is the magic of the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Oh, can we get a little applause for Clara? There we go. That's what I'm talking about.
So, it is just very fun. There we've got the circus folks coming down there as well. Hold on, we got to -- hey! Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Circus Vazquez.
ENTEN: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Circus Vazquez.
ENTEN: Whoo-hoo!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo-hoo!
ENTEN: High five. High five. Yes! There we go.
So, the top of the parade, guys, is, I would say, pretty gosh darn fun. What do you think of that, Sara Sidner, John Berman and Erica Hill?
SIDNER: Very cool. Tom the Turkey just left us. He's just passed us by.
BERMAN: Tom, there's all this shooting confetti.
SIDNER: The shooting confetti on the back of it.
BERMAN: Tom the Turkey is shooting confetti on the street here. It is a sight to behold.
SIDNER: It truly is. Oh, we see some more of the floats coming by. I did notice, oh, it's Super Mario. There he is. Mario is on the move.
BERMAN: He's big.
SIDNER: He's huge. Look at Super Mario.
BERMAN: Mario is now this year.
SIDNER: Brand new.
BERMAN: And he's making quite a debut, I would say.
SIDNER: I saw Mario yesterday tethered to the ground as they're inflating Mario, and several stories high just when they're on the ground. So once they're up there, like, these are enormous. They dwarf you when you're standing underneath them.
Our thanks, by the way, to Harry Enten, who's having a darn good time out there, even though he has not yet had his first taste of turkey. We are all salivating for the gift that we just got from Erica Hill, which --
BERMAN: We have some chocolates.
SIDNER: Chocolates and hand warmers.
BERMAN: Hand warmers. You're not supposed to eat those.
SIDNER: Don't eat those.
Still ahead, we're going to head to Houston. We'll meet the grand marshals of their parade, their beloved mascots, including Toro, Clutch, Orbit and Diesel.
BERMAN: Plus, a special performance from the Broadway musical "Six."
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[08:44:38]
BERMAN: You are looking at live pictures of Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer.
SIDNER: Dora.
BERMAN: Walking down, or floating down, Central Park West here in New York City. This is the 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Some 3.5 million people lining the parade route. And they are -- oh, you hear that screaming right there -- they are excited.
[08:45:05]
I think they like Dora.
SIDNER: They love Dora. Soy, Dora. Vamos, a la biblioteca. I can learn a lot of Spanish from Dora, like so many of us did.
BERMAN: I will say, I mean how does she know the parade route? She has Diego and a map.
SIDNER: Exactly.
BERMAN: They have a map.
HILL: She does. SIDNER: They always have a map.
HILL: And a backpack. Don't forget the backpack.
SIDNER: And they have wonderful guides, as you can see. And she's got her backpack on, of course. But you are seeing some wonderful floats here. There are quite a few that are new this year. One that's going to warm your gen z heart. No, you're gen x, sorry.
The gen x heart, Pac-Man.
BERMAN: Oh.
SIDNER: We're going to see Pac-Man this year. And gen alpha is bringing their -- bringing their drama. The Labubus are also on the way.
But look, Dora is huge. She is huge.
BERMAN: And Erica's right. I mean Erica Hill is right. There is -- oh, well, there is Mario. But on Dora we saw the backpack and we saw the map all at once there.
SIDNER: Yes.
BERMAN: And there is Mario, who passed us. When Mario went by --
SIDNER: People went nuts.
BERMAN: There was a chant. There was a Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario chant.
SIDNER: Mario. Mario.
These balloons are pretty incredible. There will be 34 of these balloons going through. And we're just, you know, enjoying this alongside you.
Oh, look, behind Dora it looks like -- is that SpongeBob?
BERMAN: Wow.
SIDNER: I think SpongeBob is also new. And, you know, they had a lot of trouble with SpongeBob, trying to get SpongeBob to fly, as well, because SpongeBob, as you know, is not exactly a round character.
BERMAN: No.
SIDNER: He's a square character. And it's a little harder to maneuver a square monstrosity in the air with a little wind. But the wind actually has been really cooperative.
Dora is now passing us by. And you are seeing Panama represented there with a band behind them, a marching band, with all the wonderful music. The crowds here are just so excited as they all come out. We're talking 3.5 plus million people. BERMAN: Let me just tell you a little bit about SpongeBob there. First
debuted last year. On his back is Gary, of course, which is SpongeBob's pet snail. Forty-four feet tall on SpongeBob, 46 feet long, 36 feet wide. And as Sara said, I mean, imagine that, 99 parades and SpongeBob is the first square balloon ever, ever, in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
SIDNER: It was hard -- it was hard to make.
And also, just a reminder, like, these balloons don't come -- you don't just order them on Amazon. These are handmade and hand painted. They've got tons of paint and glitter and all sorts of crafty people working on these year round, by the way. About 50 people.
Whoa.
BERMAN: Oh!
SIDNER: Oh, that's so cool. Did you see that? The elephant just blew something out of its snout.
BERMAN: Yes, me too, because it's a little bit cold here. I know -- I feel you. I feel you, elephant.
We're waving to the people there in the incredible, incredible outfits.
And then you can see SpongeBob.
SIDNER: SpongeBob's getting so close. Look at that. It's so cool.
How high they are, too. We're talking several stories high. And now they're flying in the air. SpongeBob having no problem, by the way, even though he is a square dude.
BERMAN: The only -- the only square dude.
And what's so fun is that all the people carrying the lines here, they are dressed -- they really match with SpongeBob. They're all wearing the yellow. They're all super excited to be here as well. And when they walk by the people in the crowd, they just give them high fives. It's just such a wonderful vibe.
SIDNER: It really is.
And you know who's getting to enjoy this wonderful vibe along with us right here in person, just up the street, our Erica Hill is there watching the parade as it is about to start coming towards you. People have been here since, you know, 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning. I saw people outside early, early, early this year.
HILL: Yes. You have to get here early to get that good spot and it is absolutely worth it. There is such a great energy. And we are just anticipating, right? We're getting ready as the parade is making its way down to us here on Sixth Avenue. As we're waiting for the parade to arrive, though, I want to check in
with our friend, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who is in Atlanta. I believe we have Derek up. He's actually running the Atlanta Half Marathon.
OK, so he's taking a little break there. But you started the half marathon. I love that we have you on the course, Derek. You and, what, you know, several -- maybe several thousand of your friends.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they call this -- they call this Running City USA. And I'm going to show you why. Let me show you. Turn it around. We're approaching mile six. You'll see the marker right there. And that guy is working for his turkey. That guy is working for his gravy. That guy is working for his stuffing.
Hey, Erica, what is -- what is a turkey thankful for on Thanksgiving?
[08:50:05]
HILL: Oh, I don't know.
VAN DAM: Turkey is thankful for vegetarians. Vegetarians.
Listen, this --
HILL: Yes. Good call.
VAN DAM: I can't believe I'm actually able to -- I'm able to speak to you while running this race. It's so cool. The technology here that we're pulling this off. But we're running past all of these iconic landmarks. We're in Piedmont Park right now. There's the Active Oval running around midtown, which is just behind us there. I mean look at this individual.
And then I want to show you what people are doing. Look at this. This is incredible. This is my friend Jacob. He's getting pushed by the Kyle Peace Foundation, who gives opportunities to all individuals --
HILL: Oh, shoot, we may have lost -- we may have lost Derek there. But just an incredible moment, as he was saying, Running City there in Atlanta. So, the half marathon. There are a number of different lengths as well if you're not up for the full half. There's even a dash, as you work up an appetite for your Thanksgiving.
We should point out there, the Atlanta Track Club also working with the Atlanta Food Bank to bring meals to those in the city. Back here in New York, of course, it is a parade. Looks like we see a few clowns here making their way down. Multiple clown groups in this parade. I believe 33. So, a lot happening here in New York City where I am.
We're waiting for the parade to make its way down. Of course, the first thing that we'll see will be Tom the Turkey, who always kicks things off. It is so much fun here on the streets.
I have some friends here in the crowd with me who are waiting on one of the 11 marching bands. One of those coming from Temple University. They're here to cheer on some of their favorite band members. We'll be looking for that.
Much more ahead here. Just -- oh my gosh, John and Sara, is that Spidey?
SIDNER: It's Spidey.
BERMAN: Yes, Spider-Man. There's Spider-Man. One of the favorites.
SIDNER: Oh, so good.
HILL: Yes.
BERMAN: It was always one of my favorites, you know, growing up because you have all the -- you know, the sort of the flowery balloons.
SIDNER: Yes.
BERMAN: But then when Spider-Man came, I was like, yes.
SIDNER: You're like, yes, Spider-Man.
BERMAN: Yes.
SIDNER: OK, that's also -- juxtaposed with Spider-Man, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." These books were so, so popular. These are those -- those Abrams books that -- that people went wild. And then there was movies that were made. It is hugely popular. It's --
BERMAN: More than 290 million copies sold worldwide.
SIDNER: This huge balloon, 39 feet tall, 45 feet long, 23 feet wide. Can just fit in Central Park West along the route there. Look at that massive balloon and all of the people. Is that -- what is -- that looked like cheese.
BERMAN: I feel like he's got his running sneakers --
SIDNER: Is that cheese?
BERMAN: He's got his running sneakers on also trying to catch Derek Van Dam all the way in Atlanta in the middle of that half marathon there.
SIDNER: I can't believe he did that.
BERMAN: You know, my wife, who's a runner, would give Derek some advice, which is, you know, elbows out. Keep the elbows out when you're running there to keep people away. You want everyone a stride and a half away from you. So, so good work.
You can see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" here. He's keeping his elbows out so he can keep his space there.
SIDNER: He is. And he's pointing at all of us. He -- he's got a bit of a grimacly look on his face. BERMAN: Oh, there he goes. And he's right there.
SIDNER: Oh, wow. He's right next to us. Amazing.
All right, let's go to the Four Tops performing "Baby, I Need Your Loving."
(Four Tops Performing "Baby, I Need Your Loving")
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