Macy's preps for Thanksgiving Day Parade at Balloonfest
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With less than three weeks to go until the big day, Macy's is getting ready for their annual Thanksgiving Day parade.
Balloon handlers gathered at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Saturday to practice walking with their balloons.
"We do extensive engineering on these balloons to make sure they are safe to fly on the streets of New York on Thanksgiving morning, so today we're going to fly them, we're going to make sure everything is flying the way we planned them to, and then if any adjustments are needed, we'll make them before Thanksgiving morning," Macy's production director Kathleen Wright said.
New balloons this year include the titular character from the Australian cartoon "Bluey," a new version of Greg Heffley from the book series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," Sinclair Oil Corporation's Dino and Baby Dino and Stuart the Minion from "Minions: The Rise of Gru."
The parade steps off from West 77th Street and Central Park West at 9 a.m. on Nov. 24 and ends at Herald Square.