NEW YORK - Organizers of the 93rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are putting the finishing touches on the balloons and floats set to make their way through Manhattan on Thursday.

"There's nothing like it. There's no other parade that gives that same kind of sense of awe and wonder," said Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Executive Producer Susan Tercero. "This country has a lot of traditions that we hold fast to and we are so happy to be a part of that tradition and that history. This parade started in 1924 and it actually began by Macy's employees who were immigrants. In Europe there were a lot of parades that they would have around holiday time. Macy's said, 'Let's start a parade to celebrate the holidays with our employees' and it carried on from there."

And to this day the 10,000 people who bring this tradition to life each year are either Macy’s employees, or their family and friends. I went to the Parade Studio in New Jersey to meet creative director Rick Pomer, who’s been with the Macy’s company for years.

"I actually started as temporary seasonal sales help back when I was in college, and it seems like I've never left," Pomer said.

Frank DiLella: How do you get the floats and balloons from here where we are right now in Jersey to the Upper West Side?

Rick Pomer: That is a definite challenge. Every float needs to compact down to something that can fit through the Lincoln Tunnel.

John Piper, the parade’s senior director of production, is the man responsible for both building the floats and balloons and getting them into the city. He’s also responsible for getting them out of Midtown as fast as possible.

"When the turkey float comes through camera and everyone sees it on the NBC telecast and it goes around the corner, by the time Santa Claus comes at the end of the parade, the turkey's already back at our studio in New Jersey," Piper explained.

Creative Producer Wesley Whatley is the person responsible for casting and programming all of the performances in the parade. This year he’s chosen the Broadway companies of "Ain’t Too Proud," "Beetlejuice," "Hadestown" and "Tina" to perform. Earlier this week Macy's shut down 34th Street so that they could have a chance to try out dancing on the pavement.

Frank DiLella: Wesley, getting to perform on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for these Broadway performers, it must be an emotional experience for them?

Wesley Whatley: It really is. It’s become a bucket list item. But beyond that, it's an opportunity for them to be part of an American tradition. And oftentimes, no matter whether you're a celebrity or just a volunteer, that's part of what makes being in the Macy's parade really special.