SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, my mom was always a big believer in taking us to as many big New York City events as possible. There was no event bigger than the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Live from New York City.
DETROW: Almost every year, we would be up hours before dawn to make sure we had a spot right up against the police barricade right at the start of the route.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: ...Of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with magnificent balloons, spectacular floats, the country's best marching bands, hit Broadway musicals...
DETROW: We'd camp out usually at 74th and Central Park West, trying to stay as warm as possible with coats and blankets and cardboard boxes on the ground for insulation. The minutes would drag by as it got a little warmer, a little lighter and, on the street in front of us, a lot busier. Bands would line up. Floats would get into position. And the best part would be seeing the gigantic balloons starting to peek their cartoon heads around the corner up by the Museum of Natural History as they got ready to join the parade. All along, E.A. Kahane was watching the parade too, 10 blocks south of us from her third-floor apartment. And Kahane took photographs, lots of them. She's published them now in a new book called "Come Join The Parade" and joins us now. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
E A KAHANE: Well, thank you, Scott. This may be another book to come, just photographing the lineup in the morning, because I watched that also from my third-floor window. And it's quite interesting. It's still dark out, as you described.
DETROW: Yeah.
KAHANE: And people start filling in their spaces. They get quite territorial. Some of the friends come earlier and get the spots. You know, the tables come out and chairs. And I always feel badly if the weather's not cooperating, and I'm nice and warm and having my coffee inside (laughter). I just want to...
DETROW: I mean, even as a little kid, I would see the people looking out the windows and go, that must be nice, not to be cold like me.
KAHANE: (Laughter) Right. Yes, it's true. But the crowds are really a part of the parade. You know, the energy, the excitement, the reception, and I love the crowds. They're fantastic.
DETROW: Tell me about your routine each year. You mentioned you're on the third floor, but you're not just taking pictures out the window. You are physically hanging out the window sometimes to get the shots here. What is it that makes you so motivated to make sure you're getting the pictures just right each year as the parade goes by your window?
KAHANE: Well, you're not going to get that cover shot of Kermit unless you're hanging out the window. Now, I don't advise people to hang out the window (laughter). But in my case, I have a little window box, so I have a bit of a cushion, and I'm super careful. And it's not hard to do because the third floor is just the perfect, perfect vantage point. I mean, when the balloons go by, it's such the perfect height that the room will get dark because it blocks the sun. But the routine is the same every year. We order our breakfast food, lox and bagels, cream cheese, cheese blintzes, little black-and-white cookies. Scott, you'll have to come over (laughter).
DETROW: I would love to. This sounds great.
KAHANE: Yeah. And sometimes there's mimosas, hot coffee, of course. And yeah, so that's the first thing we do.
DETROW: You write in some of the captions about the favorite balloons of the people coming by your apartment to watch and just in conversation. And I am one of many people who loved the Kermit balloon. That was a favorite. That's on the cover of the book. What are some of your favorite balloons?
KAHANE: Of course, Kermit is a favorite. I mean, Kermit's Kermit. He's the ambassador, by the way. I don't know if you know that. That's in my did you knows (ph) of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But I have to say, I also love Astronaut Snoopy that I took in 2019. You know, when it's windy, they lower the balloons quite a bit. And, again, it's fine for me, from my perspective. But I've got this fantastic shot of Snoopy. It almost looks like he's walking in the street. And he's just fabulous. And that was to commemorate Apollo landing on the moon. It was the 50th anniversary. And do you know, Astronaut Snoopy is NASA's mascot for his out-of-the-doghouse point of view and his resilience? And I thought that was pretty fun, too.
DETROW: We're focusing on the balloons because that's what people think about when they think about the parade, but that's not the whole parade, right? There's marching bands. There's floats. What are some of the other things that you like to photograph? And what are some of the rhythms of the parade that you see out your window that maybe we don't get watching on TV?
KAHANE: Well, that's a very good point. And making the book, it forced me to go back and look at all the other things - the clowns, the marching bands, the cheerleaders. Because there is a - sort of a Broadway performance in front of the store on 34th Street, occasionally, the parade pauses. They're looking up at us, and me, and waving to us, and I get these great connections with them at that moment. And I just love that. And the cheerleaders and the costumes - that's the nice thing about the book is you really can contemplate and really spend some time 'cause otherwise, it happens so fast. It goes by so quickly - and the excitement of it all. But you get to really contemplate what they're wearing, their hairpieces, the gloves. It's really one of the best public art displays there is in New York when it comes down to it. Did I answer that right, Scott?
DETROW: You did. You're on it. You're our star of the show.
KAHANE: (Laughter).
DETROW: You are. This is going to be the best interview we have all week.
KAHANE: Yay.
DETROW: The last thing I wanted to ask - you've been watching the parade out your window for so many years. You're talking to me, and I've been to dozens of parades down on the street. But for people listening who have never been to the parade in person, what do you hope they get from your book? What do you hope they know about this tradition?
KAHANE: Well, it's a chance to take it into your living room. It's a chance for you to have this intimate experience. It's a chance for you to feel part of it, to see it up close. And the did you knows are meant to sprinkle in some fun facts that I thought personally, as the author, were fun to share with you. So I think the key here is it really brings the parade to you and allows you to have that intimate experience that I have from my home that you cannot get from the street.
DETROW: That's author and photographer E.A. Kahane. Thank you so much for talking to us.
KAHANE: Bye, Scott. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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