For the second year in a row, Louisiana will be on display to the world this week, as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Lt. Governor Bill Nungesser says the 60-foot Celebration Gator is a huge and elaborate animated float.
“It wags its tail, those legs crawl down the street, and as the mouth opens it blows confetti. Just a great way to represent Louisiana,” says Nungesser.
The Celebration Gator from Louisiana appeared in the Macy’s parade last year, and also had a Feed Your Soul float in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. Nungesser says it’s a great way to get people thinking about visiting Louisiana.
“Between that and Rose Parade last year we reached over 14-billion people. So the return on investment is incredible.”
The state spent one-point-three million dollars to have a float in the Macy’s Day Parade. This is the second year in the three year contract.
The Celebration Gator float will feature New Orleans’ own Trombone Shorty and a host of Louisiana good will ambassadors. Nungesser says this is the 2nd of 3-year agreement for Louisiana to be in the parade. He said any float from the Bayou State HAD to have a “wow factor”. Nungesser says it’s the longest float to ever roll in the parade, measuring 60-feet from mouth to tail.
“We needed something make people go ‘wow! Look at that!’ So we went back and forth for several months, ’til we settled on something that was really spectacular: this gator!”
You can watch the parade on your local NBC station, starting at 8 am Thanksgiving Day.
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