Hundreds of Macy's department store employees and other volunteers in New York are being schooled in the art of clowning around.

A one-day training session dubbed "Clown U" has been held at the Lincoln Centre for people who want to be among the thousand or so clowns in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The "professors" were professional clowns from the Big Apple Circus, who donated their time.

The volunteers will be divided into Keystone Kops, billiard balls, wooden soldiers and 25 more teams, each assigned to a balloon or float.