EXCHANGE: Balloon handlers train for Thanksgiving Day parade

CHICAGO (AP) - On a recent sunny Saturday morning on the great lawn in front of the Museum of Science and Industry, gusts of wind bullied a 40-foot balloon of the cartoon monkey schnickelfritz known as Curious George.

Clinging to ropes, about 20 people wrangled him from underneath in various gaits. Fast, then slow. Around and under.

"Remember, no wrapping the string around your fingers or wrist!" a voice barked through a megaphone.

It turns out the magic to make the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade come together every year looks a lot like hard work, from weekly meetings of the leadership board to training volunteers how to guide swollen balloons through a narrow city streetscape.

At the parade helm for the 18th year is Region native Philip Purevich, executive director of the Chicago Festival Association. He credits the nearly 1,000 volunteers for helping pull it off.

"The bulk is from the Chicagoland area, and that includes Northwest Indiana, but we do have some people that come in (from out of town) just to volunteer, especially to be a balloon handler," Purevich said. "For a lot of people it's a bit of a dream of theirs, to be a balloon handler in a big city Thanksgiving Day parade. We do get people who come in just for that reason."

They rehearsed Nov. 7 at the Museum of Science and Industry. It's called parade school. Volunteers gathered in an auditorium for a meeting and then attended breakout sessions with volunteers in their group, such as banner carriers, block marshals, balloon handlers and the poo crew, which cleans up after the equestrian groups.

It's a dirty job but gets lots of cheers.

"People like to do it because it's the only volunteer committee that gets their own applause as they come down the route," Purevich said. "Usually the people that volunteer are goofy, spirited, fun-loving folks."

A lot of volunteers are seasoned, with more than a decade of experience at the parade.

"That's where we're very, very lucky," he said. "Our volunteers do tend to come back year after year. We have so much experience and knowledge in that volunteer group."

New this year are two of the balloons.

"This year, we're going to be debuting Hello Kitty and Plex from Yo Gabba Gabba," Purevich said.

Between six and eight balloons typically appear in the parade.

Among the balloon handlers helping maneuver a behemoth character around corners and under El tracks is 19-year-old Jamal Gamble, a Gary resident and senior at Thea Bowman Leadership Academy.

"This is my first year," he said. "My mom signed me and my brother up."

It also will be his first time in downtown Chicago. He'd only ever seen the parade on television.

Watching it on TV was a family tradition for sisters Kim and Andi Nowakowski growing up in St. John.

"This was the first thing that came on the TV in the morning when we woke up on Thanksgiving," Andi Nowakowski said.

Now there's a chance she'll be on TV while others at home watch the parade Thanksgiving morning at 8 a.m. on WGN. The 16-year-old Marian Catholic High School student will volunteer this holiday in her first parade at the urging of big sister Kim Nowakowski, a 27-year-old who now lives in Chicago.

Kim Nowakowski is in her fourth year of volunteering. She volunteers on the board and manages specialty unit staging.

"Specialty units are everything that are not floats, bands or equestrians," she said. "We get Irish dancers and drumlines and ethnic dance groups."

The day starts early, about 4 a.m.

"I like to say we're running around the streets of Chicago because it sounds fun," she said with a laugh.

She helps bring order to the lineup and sends people down the route.

"I have 30 to 40 units in my area alone, so I am down there until the last unit steps off," she said.

Her sister will be working with her, giving directions on when to speed up or slow down. And the sisters get to meet honored guests, which could include this year's grand marshal, actor David Arquette.

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Source: The (Munster) Times, http://bit.ly/1YdlaId

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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com