Shaking girls, forced smiles, and a sea of green poms poms over 500 cheerleaders; the coldest Macy’s Day Thanksgiving parade reported happened to take place this Nov. 2018. Seven senior cheerleaders headed up to New York as the temperature drastically dropped during Thanksgiving break.

Many news outlets, such as NBC, reported this years parade as the coldest one yet. Throughout the week, temperatures ranged from low 30’s to high 40’s. On Thursday, November 23rd, the temperature was said to feel like it was 5 degrees.

Lexi Brashares (‘19) battled this winter wonderland starting on Sunday, November 18th, but couldn’t have imagined the real war that struck on Thanksgiving. “Don’t get me wrong, the parade was extremely exciting, but it was also extremely cold,” Brashares said. “Even with gloves on and hand warmers hidden within, my fingers were numb for hours after the parade.”

Brashares also took a different route in order to get to New York.“I drove to NYC with two of my friends and their moms… it felt like it was never ending, but it was also fun to experience it with them,” Brashares said.

Tori Reece (‘19), another parade participant, also struggled with the weather, but found comfort within the big apple.“Yeah it was cold, but I tried to focus on the beauty of the city that surrounded me,” Reece said. “It was so unique and nothing like Florida at all. There was so much art and so many places within every inch of the city”

Some, like Ashley Holsten (‘19), got to experience both the beauty of the city and the raging cold at the same time.“On Wednesday night, a few of us went to the Empire State Building and at first there was little flurries in the air, but then it started full on snowing and I was grinning from ear to ear,” Holsten said. “It was my first time ever seeing snow. It was probably one of my favorite memories I made while I was there.”