NEW YORK — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade officially kicked off the holiday season Thursday in New York City. 

A steady rain fell over the festivities, and pro-Palestinian demonstrators briefly disrupted the parade for a second year in a row. 

The NYPD said a25 people were arrested after sitting down on the parade route with Palestinian flags and a banner reading, “Don’t Celebrate Genocide.” All of them were charged with trespassing and received summonses. 

Despite the dreary weather, CBS News New York’s Jenna DeAngelis reported it didn’t get in the way of the magic. 

“You feel it and forget about it, so we’re happy to be here,” said one person who traveled from Baltimore. 

Linwood Burden, who is 72 years old, came from Georgia to check the parade off his bucket list . 

“I’m so excited about being here, the weather’s no problem,” she said. “Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be here, so this is an opportunity.”

The annual holiday tradition stepped off at 8:30 a.m. from Central Park West, then marched down Sixth Avenue to Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square. 

It featured more than 5,000 volunteers, 34 fan-favorite floats and 22 giant balloons, including some newcomers like Minnie Mouse and Marshall from “PAW Patrol.” One new float celebrated the Bronx Zoo’s 125th anniversary with a tiger, giraffe, zebra and gorilla.

There was also an appearance from the WNBA champion New York Liberty and, of course, the one and only Santa Claus. 

“Just being here with the people I love, celebrating Thanksgiving with all these people, and I have to thank the NYPD for keeping us safe today,” said Nanuet resident Shane Cullen. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday there were no credible threats against the parade, but law enforcement agencies would be prepared to keep people safe.

The city’s new police commissioner spent time Thursday thanking the officers who were on duty.

“I started my career as an intelligence analyst at the NYPD and have incredible intelligence analysts working here,” Tisch said.

The parade has only been canceled three times — from 1942 to 1944 during World War II. The giant balloon characters are not allowed to fly if sustained winds exceed 23 mph or gusts are over 35 mph, but winds stayed around 10 mph Thursday morning.

Following the parade, the Sanitation Department, using 32 hand brooms, 29 mechanical brooms, 23 backpack blowers and 23 collection trucks, conducted a swift cleanup. Last year, it removed more than 65 tons of debris. 

Jenna DeAngelis

Jenna DeAngelis is an Emmy award winning journalist. She joined CBS News New York as a general assignment reporter in March 2018.