‘It was a once in a lifetime thing’: Cross Plains balloonist experiences Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Joyce Phillips spent Friday morning in New York City drying out after a rainy Thanksgiving Day.

Phillips, along with her sister Julie Esser from Middleton and their friend Ericka Watry from Holmen, were balloon handlers in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“It’s kind of like your wedding,” joked Watry. “It’s over in the blink of an eye.”

The trio were assigned to the new Spiderman balloon, which they say didn’t quite live up to the size of balloons they’ve seen on television before.

“We were expecting it to be really, really big,” said Phillips. “It was big, but smaller than we thought.”

Dressed in their Spidey suits, Esser, Phillips, and Watry marched along the streets of New York hanging on tight to Spiderman’s left leg alongside thousands of other balloon handlers and volunteers.

“They rely on the volunteers for enthusiasm and dedication to really make the magic happen,” said Esser. “Even in the weather, I can’t tell you how resilient the people of New York really are.”

For Watry and Phillips to see the balloons up close was extra special. The two women are balloonists, which means they help crew hot air balloons back here in Wisconsin.

“We rolled up Spiderman just like we would our regular balloon, opened vents, let out the helium and rolled the air out,” said Phillips. “Our balloons are made out of nylon, so it’s much lighter fabric, these [parade balloons] were pretty heavy duty.”

All three women say they’d jump at the chance to experience the parade again, under drier conditions.

“I think it was really worth it,” said Phillips. “We did have Thanksgiving dinner, it wasn’t quite like my mom’s but it was good.”

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