Balloons were grounded at the 100th Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia due to high winds but the centennial parade still marched on a success.
The Philly holiday tradition kicked off on Thursday morning, making its way through Center City with choirs, marching bands, floats, and a slew of guests, including Macy Gray, Kathy Sledge from Sister Sledge, Carson Kressley from "Queer Eye," among many others.
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Normally balloon characters parade down Benjamin Franklin Parkway every year, but this year the 15 balloons, including Shrek, Angry Birds, Daniel the Tiger, and Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, were grounded as a precaution.
The National Weather Service issued a high wind advisory for Philadelphia from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday. Northwest winds between 20 and 30 mph are expected with gusts up to 50 mph.
Despite the balloons being grounded, the balloon handlers still carried on in the streets with high enthusiasm, a parade-goer noted.
The excitement was high all around this year, as the parade turned 100. It debuted in 1919 and was the first Thanksgiving parade in the country. A fact many Philadelphians would like you to know ... cough New York cough.
Nothing pumped up parade-goers quite like seeing everyone's favorite Philly mascots. And yes, Gritty was there. He was also dressed up like a turkey, which is oddly a good look for him.
But really, the greatest Thanksgiving gift of all was this Philadelphian on Twitter who pointed out that because the parade was sponsored by Disney, Gritty is actually a Disney princess now. This makes a lot of sense.
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