PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It may have rained, but the bands played on and folks still gathered along the Ben Franklin Parkway to watch the country’s oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The parade is a holiday tradition for many, including Josie Baxt of Pottstown, who has been volunteering at it for a decade and a half — she helps handle the balloons.
“I just love seeing the same generations repeated on the street and seeing new kids,” Baxt said. “And then especially when all of the kids are screaming to spin the balloon is probably my top memory every year.”
Baxt volunteers with her cousin every year, but this time around they brought along a friend: first-timer Erin.
‘We’ve always loved coming out to watch the parade, so it’s an honor to be a part of it today.”
Ryan Mulhern loves the parade, too, in recent years he and his dad have made it tradition to come sit along the parkway — just one part of one of Ryan’s favorite holidays.
“I like watching the marching bands and the different police vehicles, fire department that comes down. I really enjoy the different floats that they have, the balloons that they have,” Mulhern said.
Ryan and his dad used to watch the parade on TV, but in the last few years they’ve made a point to come out to the parkway and take it all in for themselves.
“It’s about tradition, we do this every year. We’re gonna try to keep on doing this.”