A welcome form of inflation: Balloons take shape for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
NEW YORK (AP) — Giant balloons got into shape Wednesday for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as crews inflated the giant characters on the streets of New York City.
The parade kicks off Thursday morning, with dozens of huge balloons set to take to the skies. Floats, entertainers, marching bands and more will grace the streets.
About 100 balloon technicians and volunteers worked Wednesday to puff up dozens of characters. It takes about eight hours to ready them all, said Kathleen Wright, who oversees production operations for Macy’s Studios.
The process might be gradual, but Ethan Otieno was excited to see it.
“I think it’s very cool to watch them be inflated and try to guess the characters,” the tourist from Texas said while watching with relatives.
Otieno’s favorite balloon? Smokey Bear.
The parade is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. EST, rain or shine. It runs from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to Macy’s Herald Square flagship store on 34th Street.
Officials are watching the weather, since the forecast as of Wednesday evening calls for a somewhat gusty day. For safety reasons, New York City law prohibits Macy’s from flying the full-size balloons if sustained winds exceed 23 mph (37 kph) or wind gusts are over 35 mph (56 kph). Weather has grounded the balloons only once, in 1971, but they also sometimes have soared lower than usual because of wind.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference that authorities would decide Thursday morning whether any balloon adjustments are needed.
New balloons in this year’s lineup include Buzz Lightyear, Pac-Man, Mario from Super Mario Brothers and a 32-foot-tall (9.8-meter) balloon onion carriage featuring eight characters from the world of “Shrek.”
“It’s a lot of those really nostalgic and familiar characters, everybody’s favorites,” Wright said. There are also new balloons derived from characters in this year’s Netflix hit “KPop Demon Hunters.”
New floats this year include a Pop Mart entry, with the ubiquitous figure Labubu, as well as Skullpanda, Peach Riot, Dimoo, Molly, Duckoo and Mokoko.
A star-studded lineup of performers — including Cynthia Erivo, Conan Gray, Lainey Wilson and Audrey Nuna, EJAE and Rei Ami of HUNTR/X, the fictional girl group at the heart of “KPop Demon Hunters” — will be sprinkled throughout the show, along with a slew of marching bands, Broadway cast members and others. As is traditional, the Radio City Rockettes are expected.
___
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed.