Macy's BalloonFest

Macy's BalloonFest is an annual event that is held on the first Saturday of each November from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event is organized by the American department store chain, Macy's. The event features the debut of many giant helium balloons that are set to debut in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The event is only open to media personnel and closed to the public, though spectators can watch the event from the sidelines.

History
The first-ever BalloonFest was held on Saturday, November 13th 1993 at Steven's Institute of Technology, and featured the debut of that year's four brand-new giant balloons of Beethoven, Sonic the Hedgehog, Rex and Izzy. Joining the icons in the sky were several smaller star-shaped balloons and the Little Drummer Boy cold-air inflatable.

The first BalloonFest event was a smash hit, and Macy's planned another BalloonFest event in 1994. Here, balloons of The Cat in the Hat, Barney and Cloe the Holiday Clown were flown. The event was once again held at Steven's Institute of Technology.

BalloonFest 1995 was held across the Hudson River, right in Herald Square. This event would only feature the Dudley the Dragon balloon and the aforementioned star balloons, as the other two balloons that were planned to debut that year were either flown beforehand or were unprepared for flight.