New York
#1 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
People have been lining the streets of New York to watch the parade since 1924, when it was known as the Macy’s Christmas Parade and used animals from the Central Park Zoo rather than the larger-than-life balloons seen today. The parade has become an American institution, with more than 3.5 million people watching the parade in person and another 50 million tune in at home. “While many elements of the production have remained the same over the past eight decades, our goal has been to protect the integrity of the march, while also incorporating new elements and extending the life of this event beyond Thanksgiving Day,” says Amy Kule, the parade’s executive producer. Innovations include the Blue Sky Gallery series, in which artists such as Jeff Koons, Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami, and Tim Burton have created balloons for the parade, and promotions outside of New York that include in-store events, scavenger hunts, and special tours of parade memorabilia. The parade’s website and mobile app offer behind-the-scenes content, animated videos, and an Elf-o-Matic feature that allows fans to turn themselves into a parade balloon. Even the task of inflating the giant balloons the night before the parade has become a tradition—drawing more than a million spectators. Next: November 27, 2014
New York
#2 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
More than a billion people ring in the New Year by watching the Waterford crystal ball drop in Times Square on television, while a million celebrate in person. Balloons, confetti, fireworks, and musical performances add to the hoopla. Next: December 31, 2014
New Orleans
#3 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
No place does Fat Tuesday—the revelry before the start of Lent—bigger than New Orleans. Its krewe-led parades, king cakes, beads, and other traditions entertain locals as well as thousands of tourists each year in the French Quarter and throughout the city. Next: February 17, 2015
Los Angeles
#4 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
Held before the Rose Bowl football game, the parade has been a New Year’s Day tradition since 1980. The nationally televised event includes intricate floral and organic floats. Next: January 1, 2015
Houston
#5 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event (new to the list)
The three-week event counted a record attendance of nearly 2.5 million in 2014 across all of its events including the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest and the world’s largest livestock exhibition. The show debuted in 1932. Next: March 3-22, 2015
Washington
#6 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
The celebration of Japan’s gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees to the city has become one of Washington’s signature events. Its official events include an opening ceremony with performers from Japan, fireworks, a parade, and a stylish fund-raising party. Next: March 20-April 12, 2015
Boston
#7 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
Boston celebrates Independence Day with a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra followed by a fireworks display along the Charles River. The event marked its 40th anniversary in 2013. Next: July 4, 2015
San Francisco
#8 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
The largest L.G.B.T. pride celebration in the nation draws about 1.5 million people to the live event and another 400,000 viewers on a webcast. Started in 1970, the event includes entertainment on a main stage as well as 20 community-produced stages. Next: Summer 2015
Louisville, Kentucky
#9 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
Nearly 60 tons of fireworks shells are set off at the nation’s largest annual fireworks display, which serves as the kickoff event to the Kentucky Derby and as a celebration of spring. About half a million people attend the show, watching from the banks of the Ohio River and in boats. Next: April 18, 2015
Miami
#11 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
Little Havana is home to a three-week festival of Hispanic pride that attracts more than one million attendees. The centerpiece is the Calle Ocho street party. Next: March 1-21, 2015
Chicago
#12 Festival, Parade & Holiday Event
The event is the country’s largest African-American parade and second-largest annual parade, with 1.8 million spectators and 80,000 participants. Next: August 8, 2015
