Cher arrives at the premiere of "Chevalier" in Los Angeles on April 16, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, Filer)
By Mark Kennedy
Cher is obviously a superstar but even a superstar can be the opening act when it comes to Santa.
Organizers of this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have nabbed the Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy Award-winner for their 97th annual event. Cher will make her appearance just before the parade's end, signaled by the arrival of Santa’s sleigh, parade organizers said.
This year’s parade will feature 16 giant character balloons, 26 floats, 32 novelty and heritage inflatables, 12 marching bands, 700 clowns and eight performance groups.
It's a busy time for Cher, who is preparing to release a 25th-anniversary edition of her Grammy-winning album “Believe” and just dropped her first new album in five years, “Christmas.”
For the first time in its long history, the holiday tradition will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET, half an hour earlier than previous years, kicked off by multi-instrumentalist and Grammy-winner Jon Batiste.
There will be appearances by Bell Biv DeVoe, Brandy, Chicago, En Vogue, ENHYPEN, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, Jessie James Decker, Ashley Park with some Muppets from “Sesame Street,” Pentatonix, Paul Russell, Amanda Shaw and Alex Smith, and Manuel Turizo.
U.S. Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Jordan Chiles, U.S. track and field Paralympian Ezra Frech and U.S. Paralympic swimming gold medalist Jessica Long and Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke will also join the festivities.
Seven new balloon giants will join the lineup: “Beagle Scout Snoopy,” “Blue Cat & Chugs,” “Kung Fu Panda’s Po,” “Leo,” “Monkey D. Luffy,” “Pillsbury Doughboy” and “Uncle Dan.”
Broadway will be represented by performances from “& Juliet,” “Back to the Future: The Musical,” “How To Dance In Ohio,” “Shucked” and “Spamalot,” with an appearance by Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells of “Gutenberg! The Musical!"
Returning giant balloons include “Bluey,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “Paw Patrol,” “Ryan's World,” “Pikachu,” “Ronald McDonald,” "Stuart the Minion" and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
The Macy’s parade has been a traditional holiday season kickoff and spectators often line up a half-dozen deep along the route to cheer the marchers, floats, entertainers and marching bands. The parade has lately asked icons to be the last guest before Santa, with last year Mariah Carey fitting the bill.
A marching band from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the scene of one of the nation's worst school shootings, will represent Florida. Other marching bands this year will represent Alabama, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas.
Floats include ones from brands like Lego, “Peanuts,” “Baby Shark,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Sesame Street.”
The parade airs on NBC and streams on Peacock. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker from “Today” will host and a Spanish language simulcast on Telemundo will be hosted by Carlos Adyan and Andrea Meza.
The telecom giant AT&T is looking to make online learning more fun for students by engaging them with content from its partners at Warner Bros. Discovery. Mylayna Albright, the assistant vice president of corporate social responsibility for AT&T, joined Cheddar to discuss how the company came about with the free digital e-learning program that it's calling The Achievery. "We knew that once students went home as a result of the pandemic, it was very difficult for them, and we knew from research, specifically through Morning Consult, that parents and teachers realized that probably 80 percent of students felt that they would be more engaged if they had a more entertaining approach," she said.
Sourceful is an all-in-one platform for sourcing sustainable materials. The startup recently raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Index Ventures. Through its platform, Sourceful helps businesses find and design more eco-friendly packaging and reduce the carbon footprint of their supply chains. Wing Chan, Co-Founder and CEO of Sourceful, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
If you did not attend Coachella and spent the weekend scrolling through Tiktok or Instagram, you probably saw a lot influencers comparing Revolve Festival to Fyre Fest.
Content creator Lars Gummer joins Cheddar News to discuss his experience at the festival.
Arthur Madrid, CEO of The Sandbox, and Steven Kolb, CEO of CFDA, join Cheddar News to discuss their partnership focused around fashion in the metaverse.
Actor Niecy Nash’s guest character Simone Clark on ABC’s "The Rookie" is getting a spinoff series of her own after a backdoor pilot arc on the hit cop show. Nash joined Cheddar News to discuss the developments for her character, who will be the oldest rookie in the FBI. "I just think her journey in the world is what's going to be delicious, watching her navigate this new career field, watching her unpack her complicated relationship with her father," she said. Nash also talked about the legacy of her other cop show, "Reno 911," which she called a "culty phenomenon."
Ever walk into a CVS to pick up some gum, maybe some Chapstick, only to get hit with a ridiculously long receipt? It’s no secret that most CVS purchases come with these comically long receipts. But what might surprise you is that these long receipts are part of a marketing plan that's paying off big time for CVS.
Bonnie Wright, who starred in the Harry Potter film series as Ginny Weasely, the youngest of the Weasely clan and Harry Potter’s love interest, is now an author and sustainability activist with her new book, "Go Gently: Actionable Steps to Nurture Yourself and the Planet," which focuses on how to change your habits to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Wright joined Cheddar News to discuss. "I wrote my book to really help to kind of bring the macro-scale system thinking down to our day-to-day life," she said. "They're actually tangible, quite resourceful, practical things that you can implement in your day-to-day life to just help you connect to these issues and just feel empowered when we feel pretty powerless within this situation."
