“We need the good times,” said Kate Blackwell, of Monson, whose town was decimated by the June 1 tornado. Watch video
SPRINGFIELD – Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Springfield Friday, six deep at some points, as the Tower Square Parade of the Big Balloons strutted, floated, bobbed and danced down Main Street.
The parade was led by a 75-foot-tall balloon of the Cat in the Hat, a popular creation of children’s author Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, who was a native of Springfield.
Children and grown men alike could be spotted in the crowd wearing the Cat’s trademark red-and-white-striped stovepipe chapeau.
Kenna Rainville, 6, said her favorite balloon was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. She and her family had staked out a place on the curb an hour before the parade set off. “We’ve been coming forever,” said her father, Kenny Rainville.
Vendors wove their carts through the crowd, selling balloons, souvenirs and hot chocolate.
The gigantic helium-filled balloons in the parade dwarfed as many as 40 “handlers” at a time who kept them on track. In between balloons, onlookers were treated to floats, marching bands, clowns, bagpipers, beautiful ladies waving from cars, and actors costumed as everything from a chocolate-covered doughnut to a blue-and-white-gowned “Snow Queen.”
“We came to watch my husband,” said Dana Griffin of East Longmeadow, whose husband, Scott, was one of the heroes of the tornado that swept through parts of Western Massachusetts on June 1.
Scott, operations director of the MassMutual Center, was among many first responders honored as Parade Marshals. Others included Massachusetts National Guard General Gary Keefe, Springfield Fire Chief Gary Cassanelli, Springfield Police Sergeant John Delaney and Thomas and Linda-Jo Perks of the Salvation Army.
The responders were met with cheers and shouts of “Thank you!”
Kate Blackwell, of Monson, attended the parade with four generations of her family, including her children and their great-grandmother. “We need the good times,” said Blackwell, whose town was decimated by the tornado.
Jacquelin Cloonan and Joanne Cannon, of Northampton, said it was their first time at the parade. “This is a local treasure, and I thought it was about time I saw it,” said Cloonan, who was celebrating her birthday Friday.
Patrick Cushna, of Cornwall, N.Y., said it had been about 20 years since he had seen the parade. His wife and three children were in town to celebrate Thanksgiving with relatives, and a group of the extended family had gotten to the parade just in time to see the Scooby-Doo balloon.
There were children everywhere, watching not only from the street, but from strollers and their fathers’ shoulders.
They wore hats in every color and permutation of Polar Fleece, fake fur and yarn, fringed, braided, floral or embellished with ears that turned them into little lions, tigers, cats, wolves and doggies.
Robert Harvender of Forest Park came to the parade in a wheelchair, with his personal care assistant. Harvender has watched the parade since he was a kid.
Tony and Peg Krzystofik, of Hadley, said they came because “they don’t have a parade in Hadley.”
Cruzita Rivera of Springfield brought her three foster kids, her daughter, her daughter’s boyfriend, and a little Chihuahua mix named Benny Blanco.
“It kicks off that holiday spirit,” said Rivera, “and it puts you in the mood. She remembers watching the parade “when Steiger’s was here,” referring to a much-missed department store.
Finally, as Santa Claus waved from the top of a fire engine, the crowd dissolved and poured into Tower Square, where they were awaited by huge swags of bright glass balls embedded evergreens, dozens of lighted trees, a cheerful piano-player singing “No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” and an ensemble of carolers in sumptuous Renaissance garb.
Anthony (“Juicy”) Ellison, 2, of Springfield, said he would come back next year.
The Tower Square Parade of the Big Balloons was made possible by Tower Square, Chicopee Savings Bank, King Ward Bus Lines, PeoplesBank, ABC40-FOX6, the Massachusetts Army National Guard and the Springfield Police and Public Works Departments.