Pulling strings: Local woman a balloon handler in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Photo Provided Victoria West has accomplished a goal on her bucket list by being chosen as a balloon handler in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday in New York City. She’s been trying for seven years to be a handler. Here she is at a training session to be a handler.
PARKERSBURG — One less thing to do on the bucket list for a Parkersburg woman who will be a balloon handler at the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning. That’s been a long-time goal for Victoria West, to be among those who keep the giant helium-filled balloons from floating away. Her efforts this year finally paid off. “It was not easy, I’ll tell you that,” West said. West has been trying for seven years to be a balloon handler. Every time she was in New York, a city she and her husband enjoy, she stopped at Macy’s and asked employees about how to be a handler. She kept at it, eventually finding someone who was a handler who sponsored her this year. “My husband will tell you it was determination,” she said. Richard, her husband, is sharing his wife’s excitement for Thanksgiving Day. “Oh my gosh, yes,” he said. He’ll be waiting at the end of the parade route at Macy Square, along with several thousand other people. “I will know exactly who she is,” he said. Such adventures are not uncommon, Richard said. Victoria will get an itch to go somewhere, to eat somewhere or go shopping somewhere, and they’ll get in the car and drive, he said. Balloon handling isn’t the first adventure. Victoria has decorated for Christmas at the White House and the governor’s mansion in Charleston. “We’re the family of ‘go,'” Richard said. “We’ve been all over the country.” That’s the way to live, Victoria said. “I definitely believe in living life,” she said. The handling process for the 2024 parade started with the application in January, Victoria said. Victoria waited and waited, and waited a little longer until in August when she received the letter telling her she was chosen for the honor of being a balloon handler. The post required attendance at a one-day training session in September at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey where handlers learned taking a giant helium-filled balloon down the 2.5 mile route takes teamwork, she said. She also had to gain 11 pounds to meet the minimum 130-pound requirement to be a handler. “I had to gain weight to be in the parade,” Victora said. “When I got to the practice I understood why. That balloon will whip you around.” Victoria will be on the team that will handle Stuart the Minion, made famous in the “Despicable Me” animated movies. Stuart, one of 22 balloons in the parade, is 37 feet tall, 40 feet long and 28 feet wide. Others are Minnie Mouse, Smoke Bear, Spider Man, Goku and the Pillsbury Doughboy. She doesn’t know the position in the parade lineup where the balloon will be. “I’m most excited,” said West, an avid Mountaineer fan. “The minion colors are the West Virginia University colors and WVU is going to be in the parade, too.” The WVU Marching Band is among 11 college bands in the parade. Victoria will report to her duty station at 5 a.m. Thursday. The parade starts at 8:30 a.m. and is aired on NBC TV stations. “Rain, snow, doesn’t matter,” Victoria said. “The parade must go on.” The Wests also are staying at the hotel where the clowns who are in the parade are staying. “I can’t wait to see how this all unfolds,” Victoria said. Richard enjoys being with his wife on their journeys and escapades. He plans a few of his own. “Anytime I can tag along, I love to go,” he said. “One of these days real soon, she’ll have to tag along with me.” Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.