Thousands of people are lining New York City streets amid tight security for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Charlie Brown led the signature large inflatable balloons as the parade kicked off Thursday morning with the spraying of confetti and a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. Costumes characters mingled with revelries and crowds cheered as clowns on bicycles rode by carrying bundles of balloons.

Crowds, some as many as ten deep, lined the parade route, which starts on Manhattan's Upper West Side and makes its way down to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street.

More than 80 sanitation trucks filled with sand were placed at intersections and other places as barriers against any kind of attack.

Officers carrying assault rifles and bomb-sniffing dogs also lined the parade route, along with plainclothes officers in the crowd.