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THE ENVY OF THE CROWD: KIDS VISIT PARADE STUDIO

The Record (Bergen County, NJ) November 15, 2000 | EVONNE COUTROS, Staff Writer EVONNE COUTROS, Staff Writer The Record (Bergen County, NJ) 11-15-2000 THE ENVY OF THE CROWD: KIDS VISIT PARADE STUDIO By EVONNE COUTROS, Staff Writer Date: 11-15-2000, Wednesday Section: NEWS Edition: All Editions — Two Star B, Two Star P, One Star B

Peter Santos walked into the Macy’s Parade Studio in Hoboken, his eyes lighting up when he was greeted by a lifesize Blue the dog from television’s “Blue’s Clues.” web site old lahaina luau

“Whassup, whassup,” said Peter, 8, as he gave Blue the high-five.

“Wow, this is great.”

Peter and 41 of his fellow third-graders from Washington Elementary School in North Arlington were among several groups of New Jersey students who got a preview Tuesday of the floats, balloons, and costumed characters of the 74th Macy’s Thanksgivi ng Day Parade.

Ryan Mitchell, 8, looked up at two towering balloons, then marveled at some of the dozen floats stored at the studio off 15th Street.

He was impressed by the new Three Little Pigs float and the Old Lahaina Luau float that will carry Miss America while spewing smoke and confetti from the mouth of its 26-foot volcano.

“It’s awesome to learn about the floats,” Ryan said. “I learned how they’re made, how they get their ideas and first make them using clay. I learned how they’re designed to make them look realistic.”

Ryan said he’s now got a jump on his brother.

“He’s eight years older and now I can say I’ve been here and I know how it works,” Ryan said.

In addition to the Maui float and the pigs, three more floats and one falloon (float-and-balloon combo) will join this year’s parade. The floats are Mother Earth, Road to the Future, and Simple Simon.

Jean McFaddin, the producer and director of the parade, said between 30 and 40 workers plan year-round for the event. Their ranks swell just before parade time. Some 2.5 million people attend yearly, but the television audience has reached 60 million, McFaddin said.

“We love to have our sneak preview with all the kids because what it does for us is give us a chance to reaffirm, see what they like, and see their immediate response,” McFaddin said. “We bring the groups into the studio and it’s our chance to learn from them . . . and seeing their reaction is a joyful payoff for the artists who work so hard.”

This year there will be more than 35 floats in the parade. In the lead is a new Bandleader Mickey Mouse balloon. Jeeves returns as a balloon, this time carrying the keys of knowledge. Like the famous golden arches, the old Ronald McDonald balloon is out, too — replaced by an updated version.

Manfred Bass of Mountainside is the chief designer of the balloons and floats. Bass works daily in the 16,000-square-foot studio with a team of designers who will see the fruits of their labor on Thanksgiving Day.

“There’s a tremendous amount of energy that goes into creating any one of these units,” Bass said. “It’s a team of more than 25 sculptors, welders, carpenters, and electricians all versed in the creative arts.”

The students gave a “wow” as they saw the new blue and red elf balloon — one that Bass said isn’t so new.

The gigantic elf is reminiscent of a version used in the parade decades ago and will float down the lane as a historical recreation, Bass said.

“We like to regenerate some of the old classics so it’ll be a combination of classics and contemporaries,” Bass said. “Decades ago it would have been made of a heavier rubber and would weigh about two or three times more than what’s used now.”

Bass said the super balloons — about 60 feet long, 24 feet wide, and more than 30 feet high — are made with a urethane coating that’s much more durable than rubber.

After the basic sketches are done, the balloon and float designs are scanned into computers where the logos and borders have become much easier to design due to advanced technology.

“The creative process is becoming faster and faster and more demanding,” Bass said. see here old lahaina luau

And the balloons are getting much more sophisticated and intricate in design.

And doing it all in Hoboken is half the fun.

“We’re right near New York City . . . there’s a nice relationship between this area and going to New York,” Bass said. “We just go to Port Authority and go right to Macy’s and we have our creative meetings over there. It keeps the creative juices centralized.”

Danielle Choinski, 8, was just glad her teacher, Linda Schneider, did her homework and knew how to get her into the studio with her friends.

“Now I know what’s going to happen in the parade,” Danielle said.

“I want to go.”

Danielle has never been to the Thanksgiving parade but got a chance to get up close to the alien characters from public television’s “The Dooley and Pals Show.”

Joseph Desena, 8, saw a special benefit to the excursion.

“This trip is better than sitting in school because we don’t have to do work,” he said.

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Illustrations/Photos: 1 – COLOR PHOTO – ED HILL / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER – Christian Sosa, left, and Melissa Kachel, third-graders at the Washington School in North Arlington, getting up close and personal with a turtle on one of the floats that will be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 2 PHOTOS – ED HILL / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER – 2 – Third-graders from Washington School in North Arlington, on a visit to Macy’s Parade Studio on Tuesday to see floats, enjoying Green Dog, mascot of a clothing line. 3 – Jessica Amador with a bag of goodies she received at Macy’s Parade Studio.