Giants and genies
Fairytale floats bring magic to the Parade
A S the yellow school bus approached the monstrous warehouse known as the Macy’s Parade Studio in Moonachie, NJ, fourth-graders Brianna Brodie and Miashia Prescott began jumping up and down.
“We were screaming ‘We are here!’” says Brianna. “It’s super cool to have the opportunity to come here.”
The girls, who attend Nicholas Murray Butler School No. 23 in Elizabeth, NJ, and 31 of their schoolmates were getting a special sneak peek of five of the newest floats in the 91st annual Macy’s Parade. They were most impressed with the Shimmer and Shine float by Nickelodeon, with its bright colors and smoke wafting from genie bottles.
“They know Shimmer and Shine are genies that make magical things happen,” says John Piper, vice president of Macy’s Parade Studio.
Alvaro Marte, 8, a third-grader, favored the towering Green Giant, which, at almost 40 feet high, was a commanding presence.
“We had challenges with the Green Giant float, because it is literally a giant sculpture of the human form,” says Piper. “You have to be thinking like Michelangelo to make it that good artistically.”
Olivia Cotter, 7, from Saint Ignatius Loyola School in Manhattan, also liked the Green Giant. “I didn’t know they could make it so big,” she says. “I think it’s really good.”
Other new floats include Everyone’s Favorite Bake Shop by Entenmann’s, Parade Day Mischief featuring Sour Patch Kids candy, and Universal Playground by Sprout.
It seems impossible to imagine that each of the enormous and detailed floats must be taken apart and collapsed to the size of an RV to make it through the Lincoln Tunnel en route to the Parade. “That’s part of the magic and the artistry of the team here,” Piper says.
As their visit wound to a close, Brianna and Miashia agreed that this was their best field trip ever. “I’m very happy,” Miashia says. “It’s such a great opportunity, it was very amazing to do this.”