Macy’s in the metaverse: Virtual parade serves as Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser

NEW YORK — Macy’s, which has been conducting its holiday parade since 1924, is taking it into the metaverse as part of an interactive experience that also has a fund-raising component for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade returns to the Web3 virtual world with a new experience that allows people to select a non-fungible token (NFT) Macy’s balloon. The Macy’s Parade can be experiences virtually in the metaverse and will include five galleries from five NFT projects: Boss Beauties, Cool Cats, gmoney, SupDucks and VeeFriends.

Those interested can vote for their favorite creators, which will result in one of the designs coming to life as a balloon in next year’s parade. Voting takes place Nov. 24-Dec. 4, with the first 100,000 voters receiving a free Macy’s digital collectible.

In addition, collectors will have the opportunity to mint a virtual gallery pass to receive an OnCyber NFT gallery space, which will be airdropped on Dec. 5. The $50 cost of minting a virtual gallery will go 100% to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nation’s largest youth mentoring organization.

“As we count down to the 96th Macy’s Parade, we are excited to bring this spectacle once again to the Web3 virtual landscape with a fun experience,” said Will Cross, executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“Our genesis collection of Parade NFT’s last year was so successful that we wanted to give our digital community the opportunity to select a native NFT design to be transformed into a real-world Macy’s Parade balloon, while also creating an opportunity to raise critical funds for our partner Big Brothers Big Sisters of America,” he said.

The metaverse experience on OnCyber begins at 9 a.m. Nov. 24. The virtual parade can be accessed at and is fully accessible on desktop and mobile. The metaverse parade will feature the flight of iconic Macy’s balloons from the nine-decade run of the parade. The balloons were first featured as collectible NFTs last year in celebration of the parade.

The 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade airs live from New York at 9 a.m. Nov. 24 on NBC and will also be streamed on Peacock.

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I’m Joanne Friedrick, research editor for the Home Furnishings Division. I began my career as a newspaper editor and then became a trade journalist, covering myriad industries including pension funds, supermarkets, gourmet food and security systems, just to name a few. Most recently, I entered the home furnishings category as a contributor for HFN and Home Textiles Today before transitioning into research where I now get to tell the stories behind the numbers for all of the HFD titles.