Oscar winner rides atop ‘Celebration Gator’ float in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

NEW YORK (WGNO) — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade added some Louisiana flavor on Thursday.

Thanks to the creativity and promotion from Louisiana Tourism, the ‘Celebration Gator’ float made its way down the streets of New York carrying New Orleanian Jon Batiste, who was just nominated for 11 Grammys.

Batiste, who won an Oscar for co-composing the best original score on the 2020 Pixar animated film Soul along with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, was seen waving, smiling and singing atop the 60-foot alligator float, which was one of only a handful of new floats in this year’s parade.

“We are excited about all the attention the Celebration Gator will bring to Louisiana after a challenging 18 months that included not only the pandemic but two major hurricanes making landfall in the state,” said Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, who hopes the float will entice the estimated 75 million viewers to visit the Bayou State. “We wanted our float to be special and unique just like Louisiana.

“The experiences you can have in Louisiana are entirely different than in any other state, and that’s what our float shows,” he continued. “We want to show people Louisiana is a state where you can Feed Your Soul, and when you are here, we treat you like family.”