E.A. Kahane was hooked on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade long before she saw it in person. The native New Yorker and a group of friends gathered annually at West 72nd Street and Central Park West the night before to watch the parade’s beloved oversized balloons being inflated. “It was an evening that we wouldn’t miss, and the next morning, I watched every moment of the parade on TV,” Kahane says.
In 1997, Kahane moved with her husband into a third-floor apartment on Central Park West and 64th Street — bang amid the parade’s path — and witnessed the procession live from her window for the first time.
The then real estate broker was also an ardent photographer and began capturing images of the scene below her. “I got so excited seeing the characters, the marching bands, and the crowds and instantly grabbed my camera,” Kahane says. “The parade became an obsession.”
Fast-forward to 2024, the year of the parade’s centenary, and Kahane is debuting a coffee-table book, “Come Join the Parade,” featuring a collection of her photos over the years. The colorful tome is presented in a silk-screened box and comprises more than 160 snapshots that Kahane picked from the thousands she has taken. “I tell the story of this epic event through my pictures,” she says.
Kahane’s standout moments include 2021, when the parade returned live after being canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. “It was a sign that we’re back,” Kahane says.
The book is sprinkled with fascinating facts about the parade’s history and characters. Who knew, for example, that the red star in Macy’s logo is connected to the store’s founder, Rowland Hussey Macy? “He was from Nantucket and worked on a whaling ship. He got a red star to commemorate his time on the boat,” Kahane says.
Since moving to 64th Street, Kahane says she’s never skipped the parade from her prime perch. She even flew back from a trip to Amsterdam for 24 hours to shoot the pageantry before promptly returning to Europe. “The parade is a free and spirited event for everyone,” she says. “That’s exactly the experience I want to share through my book.” – Shivani Vora
