In 1997, a young woman from Manhattan was standing by 72nd Street, watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, when she was knocked unconscious. Driven by heavy winds, a six-story Cat in the Hat balloon had slammed into a lamppost, scattering debris onto spectators. Since then, New York City has prohibited giant balloons at the Macy’s parade when it gets too windy. Tomorrow may be such a day, officials say.
Fierce winds predicted City regulations prohibit giant balloons in the parade if there are sustained winds above 23 miles per hour or if gusts exceed 34 m.p.h., my colleague Michael Gold reports. The National Weather Service predicts that winds on Thursday could be that fierce. City officials and parade organizers will make a decision tomorrow morning. Character balloons have been a feature of the parade since 1927. The only time it went without balloons was in 1971, because of weather conditions.
Big balloons Smokey Bear is 51 feet high. Greg Heffley, from the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book series, is 62 feet in length. These and other balloons can require as many as 90 handlers each. The […]
