They love a parade
As a child, North Strabane Township resident Jody McIlvaine watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade faithfully until Santa arrived in his sleigh at the end. It was a holiday tradition.
This year, McIlvaine and her friend Melinda Bennett will be a part of the celebration.
McIlvaine and Bennett will be guiding Toothless the Dragon from “How to Train Your Dragon,” one of four giant helium balloons making their debut in the 87th annual parade.
The parade starts at 9 a.m. in New York and is expected to draw 3 million paradegoers, include 8,000 participants and attract more than 50 million viewers, according to Macy’s.
“We’re excited to do this. It’s a really unique opportunity, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said McIlvaine, a sixth-grade teacher at Cecil Intermediate School in Canon-McMillan School District.
It’s not easy to get a spot as a balloon handler. There are about 1,500 volunteer spots available, and they are reserved for Macy’s employees and their family and friends.
McIlvaine and Bennett, a pharmacist and South Strabane Township resident, snagged their jobs when they were sponsored by Michael Shannon, a former Chartiers-Houston High School classmate of McIlvaine’s who works at Macy’s in New York City.
They filled out applications and were notified earlier this month that they were selected to march in the parade.
McIlvaine and Bennett chose handling a large balloon over working as clowns at the parade.
“I thought if we were doing a balloon, we’d have the opportunity to take it all in. I thought it would be cool to see everybody’s faces along the route and see how excited they are,” said McIlvaine.
The iconic giant helium balloons were introduced in 1927 to replace Central Park Zoo animals that accompanied the floats and marching bands, and since then the parade has grown to include at least 15 giant balloons and dozens of novelty balloons each year. The other new giant balloons this year are Snoopy and Woodstock, Finn and Jake of “Adventure Time” fame and SpongeBob SquarePants.
The parade also will pay homage to the 75th anniversary of the “Wizard of Oz” with a 47-foot hot-air balloon featuring portraits of the film’s characters.
McIlvaine and Bennett weren’t able to attend the balloon handler camps held at Macy’s in New York, so they’re learning the ropes by watching instructional videos, which teach the pair how to follow signals from the balloon pilot, how to launch and deflate the balloon and how to control it – which is tougher than it looks, especially in wind and cold.
On average, balloons are filled with 12,000 cubic feet of helium, so in order to hold a rope handle (also known as a “bone”), handlers must be over 18, weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health.
McIlvaine, Bennett and Shannon have to arrive at the parade at 5:30 a.m. in order to change into their costumes and go over last-minute instructions. But they don’t mind getting up early in order to man the balloon.
Bennett and Shannon – who is marching for the first time, too – said they, like McIlvaine, grew up watching the parade, and the three are looking forward to being a part of an American tradition.
“I have to write this on my bucket list so that I can check if off,” joked Bennett. “It’s such a great honor. I know it’s just going to be a joy-filled day.”