96-Year-Old Thanksgiving Tradition Makes its Way to Metaverse
It’s Thanksgiving Day morning. Before the football games kick off, the smell of food cooking in the kitchen creeps out into the living room as the family gathers around the TV to tune into another American. That tradition, now in its 96th year, is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
But, even traditions are subject to evolution. The NFL originally played on game on Thanksgiving Day, then moved to two, and has more recently added a third. As for the Macy’s parade, it, too, is set for a new era. It annually hosts some 6,500 participants and 3.5 million spectators – with tens of millions more watching on TV.
This year, though, those home viewers can have a much more immersive and interactive parade experience than ever before in a 3D virtual setting. This is actually the second digital experience for Macy’s but, this year, the event returns to the web3 virtual world in the metaverse with a new twist. For the first time, in addition a virtual parade experience, viewers will be able to select the first NFT Macy’s Parade balloon. Virtual galleries from five NFT projects give fans the chance to vote for their favorite creators – one of those lucky creators will see their designs come to life in next year’s Macy’s 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,” said Will Coss, executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The five galleries feature NFT collections from Boss Beauties, Cool Cats, gmoney, SupDucks and VeeFriends. Voting is open from 9 a.m. EST Nov. 24 to 11:59 p.m. EST Dec. 4. The first 100,000 fans who vote are eligible for a free Macy’s digital collectible. No purchase or claim to an NFT collectible is necessary to vote.
The revenue Coss refers to comes from collectors having an opportunity to mint a virtual gallery pass to receive an OnCyber NFT gallery space. Minting a virtual gallery pass is $50 with 100% of the cost benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
BBBSA is a youth mentoring organization. BBBSA’s adult volunteers inspire young people to achieve post-secondary success, strengthen mental well-being and foster an inclusive environment for all. Through its donation from the NFT projects, Macy’s says it will help fuel life-changing mentoring experiences that ultimately create a better future for young people.
The metaverse experience is powered by the OnCyber metaverse available to fans and collectors beginning at 9 a.m. EST Nov. 24. The virtual parade is fully accessible on desktop and mobile without the need for a crypto wallet or a VR headset.Edited by Erik Linask
