EA Kahane was hooked on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade long before she saw it in person. The native New Yorker and a group of friends gathered every year at West 72nd Street and Central Park West the night before to watch the parade’s beloved balloons being inflated. “It was an evening not to be missed, and the next morning I watched every moment of the parade on TV,” says Kahane.
In 1997, Kahane moved with her husband to a third-floor apartment at Central Park West and 64th The road – cuts across the parade route – and witnessed the procession directly from her window for the first time.
The then-real estate broker was also an avid photographer and began capturing images of the scene below. “I was so excited to see the characters, the marching bands and the crowds, and I immediately grabbed my camera,” says Kahane. “The parade became an obsession.”
Fast forward to 2024, the parade’s centennial year, and Kahane is debuting a coffee table book, Come Join the Parade, featuring a collection of her photos over the years. The colorful device is presented in a silk-lined box and includes more than 160 photographs that Kahane has selected from the thousands he has taken. “I tell the story of this epic event through my photos,” she says.
Kahane’s highlights include 2021, when the parade returned live after being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. “It was a sign that we’re back,” says Kahane.
The book is sprinkled with fascinating facts about the parade’s history and characters. Who knew, for example, that the red star in the Macy’s logo is associated with the store’s founder, Rowland Hussey Macy? “He was from Nantucket and worked on a whaling ship. He got a red star to commemorate his time on the boat,” says Kahane.
Since he moved to 64th Street, Kahane says she never missed the parade from her prime position. She even returned from a trip to Amsterdam for 24 hours to shoot the show before heading straight back to Europe. “The parade is a free and spirited event for everyone,” she says. “This is exactly the experience I want to share through my book.” – Shivani Vora
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Image Source : nypost.com