Hot-air balloons on Wednesday got into shape for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as crews inflated the giant characters on the streets of New York City.
The parade was to start yesterday morning, with dozens of huge balloons set to take to the skies. Floats, entertainers, marching bands and more were to grace the streets.
About 100 balloon technicians and volunteers worked on Wednesday to puff up dozens of characters.
Photo: AFP
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.
Photo: AFP
Otieno’s favorite balloon was Smokey Bear.
The parade runs from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to Macy’s Herald Square flagship store on 34th Street.
Officials were watching the weather, as the forecast was 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 37kph or wind gusts are over 56kph.
New balloons in this year’s lineup include Buzz Lightyear, Pac-Man, Mario from Super Mario Brothers and a 9.8m-tall 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 — were to be sprinkled throughout the show, along with a slew of marching bands, Broadway cast members and others.
As is traditional, the Radio City Rockettes were expected.
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