Macy's Balloon Inflation (Inflation Eve)
New York, NY · Holiday
- When
- November 25, 2026
- Where
- American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West · New York · NY
- Cost
- Not confirmed
- Status
- Approximate: based on past editions, not announced yet
The night before Thanksgiving, Macy's inflates its giant character balloons along Central Park West outside the American Museum of Natural History, drawing families for a free up-close look before the parade steps off. The viewing tradition has run alongside the parade for decades and now spans several blocks.
The history within reach
The night before Thanksgiving, Macy's inflates its giant character balloons along Central Park West outside the American Museum of Natural History, drawing families for a free up-close look before the parade steps off.
- The Hayden Planetariumsame spot
Rebuilt in 2000 as an eighty-seven-foot sphere apparently floating inside a glass cube, with the upper half a star theatre and the lower half a Big Bang show.
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- Seneca Village cleared0.3 mi
A community of some 225 people, mostly Black landowners with three churches and a school, was removed by eminent domain to build Central Park.