1. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
New York’s most popular parade draws 3.5 million spectators as it winds down Central Park West and Broadway. (Another million attend the inflation of the giant balloons the evening before.)
2. New Year’s Eve in Times Square
One million revelers flood Times Square to ring in the New Year, and a billion more watch on television worldwide. The celebration, which dates back to 1904, is a coproduction between Countdown Entertainment and the Times Square Alliance.
3. St. Patrick’s Day Parade
One of the oldest parades in the country, this Irish-American heritage event celebrates its 248th year on March 17. The 2008 parade drew more than two million spectators.
4. West Indian-American Day Carnival
This four-day festival lights up Brooklyn each Labor Day weekend with music and dancing and a Monday parade. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Patterson served as grand marshals in 2008, when the event drew more than three million revelers.
5. National Puerto Rican Day Parade
Union leader Dennis Rivera served as the grand marshal for the 2008 outing of this festive Fifth Avenue march, which drew more than two million spectators. The 52nd annual event is scheduled for June 14.
6. Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting
New York’s most recognizable Christmas tradition celebrated its 76th holiday season in 2008. The Tishman Speyer-produced lighting ceremony featuring Beyoncé, Tony Bennett, and the Jonas Brothers, was broadcast live on NBC on December 3.
7. Village Halloween Parade
Nearly two million spectators watched more than 60,000 costumed marchers parade up Sixth Avenue for the 36th time—despite the last-minute pullout of several sponsors. One float recreated the “Twist and Shout” sing-along from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
8. NYC PrideFest and Parade
A week of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride celebrations is anchored by the Pride Parade, which draws nearly one million spectators as it winds down Fifth Avenue and through the West Village. PrideFest is scheduled for June 20 to 28.
9. AIDS Walk New York
New to this list but no stranger to the city, the walk has raised $97 million for HIV programs and services in its 23 years. In May, 50,000 participants marched through Central Park and raised more than $7 million.
