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UP FRONTFriday 24 November 2017

Macy’s Thanksgiving parade soars amid tight security Texas Thanksgiving
feasts catering to the
Continued from Front homeless, refugees

“Not a lot’s changed — Texas Thanksgiving
feasts catering to the
the balloons, the bands, homeless, refugees

the floats — and that’s By TERRY WALLACE
Associated Press
the good thing,” said Sey- DALLAS (AP) — Seven
years ago, Samira Page
forth, 76, who’d flown in and a small group of fel-
low refugees sat around
from Denver to spend his her table where the guests
experienced their first tradi-
50th wedding anniversary tional American Thanksgiv-
ing Day feast.
in New York and see this This year, the Iranian native
invited about 400 refugees
year’s parade. for the meal that has out-
grown her home and be-
The televised parade was come an annual event.
“For some of these people,
proceeding smoothly, this is their first Thanksgiving.
We have refugees who
though about midway have been here less than a
month. And we have some
through, a gust of wind on who have been here five
years,” said Page, found-
a largely calm day blew a er and executive director
of Gateway of Grace, a
candy-cane balloon into a Christian outreach ministry
for refugees.
tree branch, and it popped The guests at her feast are
from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan
near the start of the route and Syria. Elsewhere in
Texas, communities served
on Manhattan’s Upper Thanksgiving meals to the
homeless and victims of
West Side. No one was in- a truck attack on a bike table radiation detectors said she wasn’t worried Hurricane Harvey.
path near the World Trade were circulating among about security because Page’s own journey came
jured. Center killed eight people the crowds, sharpshoot- of the police presence: “I 19 years ago, when she
on Halloween. ers were on rooftops and think we’re in a safe spot.” traveled from Iran to Tur-
In 2005, one of the pa- “With the event being out in sand-filled city sanitation Other paradegoers also key, to Mexico, to the Unit-
the open like this, we were trucks were poised as im- showed their appreciation ed States. She converted
rade’s signature giant bal- concerned,” he said. “But posing barriers to traffic at for police: The NYPD march- to Christianity and studied
we knew security would be every cross street. Officers ing band and a group of for the ministry at Southern
loons caught a gust, hit ramped up today, and we also were escorting each mounted officers got some Methodist University in Dal-
have full confidence in the of the giant balloons. of the biggest cheers from las.
a Times Square lamppost NYPD.” The mayor and police brass spectators lined up as One of her outreach meth-
Authorities say there is no have repeatedly stressed many as 15 deep along ods is to present traditional
and injured two people. confirmation of a cred- that visitors shouldn’t be barricades. Among other feasts, including Christmas
ible threat to the parade, deterred. And Bekki Grin- crowd favorites: as did the and Easter. But she starts
The candy cane was small- but they were taking no nell certainly wasn’t. SpongeBob SquarePants with Thanksgiving.
chances after both the “When your kid from Alaska balloon. “Imagine being brand new
er than the giant balloons. truck attack and the Oc- is marching in the Macy’s The 91st annual parade in a country at the start of
tober shooting that killed Thanksgiving Day Parade, featured new balloons in- the holidays,” Page said.
Timothy McMillian and 58 people at a Las Vegas you come,” said Grin- cluding Olaf from the Dis- “No extended family, no
country music festival. nell, whose daughter was ney movie “Frozen” and one to share it with. And
his wife, their 9-year-old New York Police Depart- marching with the band Chase from the TV cartoon every day you see people
ment officers with as- from Colony High School “Paw Patrol” will be among and stores gear up for a
daughter and his in-laws sault weapons and por- in Palmer, Alaska. Grinnell the new balloons Thursday, celebration you’re no part
along with a new version of.”
started staking out a spot of the Grinch of Dr. Seuss What started with four or
fame. five fellow refugees gath-
along the route at 6:30 Smokey Robinson, The ered around her dining
Roots, Flo Rida and Wyclef room table for turkey and
a.m. They’d come from Jean were among the sides seven years ago
stars celebrating, along has grown to fill the par-
Greensboro, North Caro- with performances from ish hall of St. John’s Epis-
the casts of Broadway’s copal Church near White
lina, to see in person the “Anastasia,” ‘’Dear Evan Rock Lake in northeastern
Hansen” and “SpongeBob Dallas.q
spectacle they’d watched SquarePants.” The lineup
included a dozen march-
on TV for years. ing bands, as well as the
high-kicking Radio City Mu-
McMillian, a 45-year-old sic Hall Rockettes — and, of
course, Santa Claus.
schoolteacher, booked a “This is my favorite thing
ever,” musician Questlove
hotel months ago, but he told The Associated Press
as he got ready to ride the
started to have some con- Gibson Guitars float with
his bandmates in The Roots
cerns about security when and late-night host Jim-
my Fallon of “The Tonight
This photo released on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 by shows officers with Task Force Marauder served Show,” where The Roots
Thanksgiving lunch to service members in the dining facility in Afghanistan. Task Force Marauder are the house band. q
consists of Soldiers from South Carolina National Guard, Illinois National Guard, Iowa National
Guard, as well as active duty service members.

(Capt. Jessica Donnelly via AP)