The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Will Become The First LGBTQ+ Band To Perform At The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The show will go on for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — but with a few modifications. 

Instead of the usual 2.5 mile-long procession, this year the parade will be telecast with performances — shot over the course of 2-3 days — taking place around Midtown’s Herald Square. While the number of participants has been reduced by 75%, the parade still features an all-star line-up of musicians, marching bands, and Broadway ensembles.

Unlike previous years, most of the participants will come from New York and the Tri-State area — in keeping with safety protocols. The event “will become something of an ode to New York,” The New York Times reports, with performances by the Rockettes — with masks and sans kickline — and the New York City Ballet. The casts of “Hamilton,” “Mean Girls,” “Jagged Little Pill” and “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations” will also perform.  

This year’s parade will also feature a prominent first. The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps will become the first LGBTQ+ marching band to perform at the parade – a long-time goal of the Corps’ marching director and Women We Love 2020 alumni Marita Begley. 

 

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“We’ve been dreaming about this for literally 40 years,” Begley tells GO. “When I joined the band in 1982, [the parade] was like the Academy Awards. It seemed pretty distant but as the band grew, and as LGBT acceptance grew, it didn’t seem so pie-in-the-sky anymore.”

The marching band filmed their portion of the parade today with a performance of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”. “It was an amazing experience for us and for all LGBTQ people who are going to see us tomorrow in the parade,” Dana Robbins, a member of the Big Apple Corps color guard, tells GO. “It was truly a dream come true.” 

“For 40 years we’ve been opening hearts and minds one song at a time,” Begley says. With the parade likely to attract millions of viewers, “that’s an awful lot of hearts and minds. It’s going to send a very powerful message.”

They’ll be joined by other bands, including the FDNY Emerald Society Pipes & Drums and the Band of the City of New York Police Department. Other performers include Dolly Parton, Patti LaBelle, and Bebe Rexha. 

 

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The made-for-TV parade will air Thursday, November 26 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on NBC. Long-time Macy’s Parade staple, Al Roker, will host.