This step helps the team create a physical blueprint from which the balloon will be built.
Once a flight-worthy balloon concept has been approved, it moves onto a 3D-printed model (previously sculpted with clay). Ballooning experts, the Macy’s team in collaboration with consultants calculate and perfect the balloon’s aerodynamic design. Sarg, being a puppeteer, imagined the balloons as 'upside-down marionettes,' with participants handling the balloon by a series of handling lines as it makes its way down Broadway.Įvery Macy’s Parade balloon combines artistic design with aerodynamics and engineering. The first balloons were introduced by Tony Sarg for the 1928 Parade, serving as a replacement for the live animals, who had previously appeared in the Parade but frightened child attendees. The giant helium balloons generally measure several stories in size, and depict characters from pop culture, such as cartoons, films, comic strips and advertising icons. Some of the most popular balloon characters over the years have included Snoopy, Ronald McDonald and SpongeBob SquarePants.īalloons are the signature elements of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
