The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will return on Thursday for its 99th year, featuring beloved floats, balloons and live performances along the streets of Manhattan and on televisions nationwide.

This year's parade will include more than 5,000 volunteers, 34 balloons, 28 floats, 11 marching bands, and a host of musical performances by stars like Cynthia Erivo and Darlene Love.

Debuting as the Macy's Christmas Parade in 1924, the first march to its flagship store in Herald Square featured live animals from the Central Park Zoo, in an effort to boost the department store's holiday sales.

Viewers won't see live animals this year; the parade stopped including them in 1927 due to safety concerns. Organizers replaced real lions and tigers (and bears, oh my!) with the now-iconic oversized b

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