Though the balloon was inflated, it was pulled from the lineup for unknown reasons. Happy Dragon was set to make a brief reprise appearance at the first-ever Macy’s-Egleston Christmas Parade in Atlanta, Georgia in December of 1983. Dragon's frustrations of him not being home to carve the turkey. Happy Dragon appeared via a tribute segment during the NBC telecast of the 1982 Parade, where Bryant Gumbel mentions Happy was unable to attend the Parade that year, citing Mrs. The balloon’s original tenure came to an end following 1981, however it wouldn’t be the last the Parade saw of the delighted reptilian. Repairs were indeed made, however, and the balloon was patched up for its 1979 Parade appearance. As the balloon wilted to the pavement below and was removed from the lineup, Goodyear officials feared that the damages were so severe that the Happy Dragon balloon would not be able to be repaired. Wind gusts shoved the balloon into a lamp post at Columbus Circle, an act that was captured on CBS’ broadcast of the procession. Happy Dragon would suffer yet another accident in 1978. Happy Dragon suffers a head wound at the 1978 event.
The balloon was able to soar onto Central Park West just a few minutes later, behind the Storybook Train Float. The cleanup of the droppings took several minutes and delayed the Dragon's appearance. The balloon was scheduled to join the Parade behind the Snowman Sleigh Float, however a police horse unloaded a large amount of excrement before the balloon turned the corner to join the Parade.
Happy’s return appearance wouldn’t be without incident, however. The balloon would be repaired in the following weeks, and Happy Dragon once again delighted spectators at the 1972 Parade. Happy’s wounds included a head puncture, received after the balloon escaped its netting. All three balloons suffered damages and were subsequently removed from the lineup. Due to gale-force winds and pelting rain the night before the Parade, only three of the giant balloons were able to be brought outside and inflated– Astronaut Snoopy, Smokey Bear and Happy Dragon. The Happy Dragon balloon faced its first major accident in 1971. The Happy Dragon balloon took a brief hiatus the following year, however it returned to the lineup for the 1966 Parade a return that would last for nearly two decades.
Initially scheduled to fly through the 1963 Parade, Happy Dragon was brought back as a replacement balloon in 1964 after the Popeye balloon suffered defects that proved too serious to repair before kick-off. Coverage of that year’s Parade identified the balloon as the “highlight of the Parade,” noting that “children squealed in delight at a dragon flying overhead.” Īkined to its previous balloon, it replaced the fellow lumbersomed astronaut of all Spaceman, whom retired after the 1959 parade before getting replaced by the dragon. The Happy Dragon balloon would later make its debut in the 1960 Parade, soaring down the streets of Manhattan with the help of two eight-foot wings extending from his body, in addition to 22 handling lines and a team of balloon handlers. When the balloon’s six-week construction finished, it was shipped to Akron, Ohio for its test flight at the city’s Goodyear hangar. Huge tusks and horns extend from the 10-foot head, which displays a smile and a long red tongue, lolling from his mouth.
The 75-foot long beast was constructed with 2,835 square feet of neoprene-coated nylon fabric and 82 gallons of paint in six different colors. The original Happy Dragon balloon was “born” in the summer of 1960 at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant located in Phoenix, Arizona. History with the Macy's Parade Happy Dragon
0 kommentar(er)
