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The Americana Spheres, previously known as the Stars & Stripes Ornaments, are a pair of novelty balloons that originate from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

History with the Macy's Parade[]

The Americana Spheres made their debut in the 1999 Macy's Parade, with a duo of star-spangled spheres floating their way into the Parade's line of march. These balloons, known as the Stars & Stripes Ornaments, were representative of the American flag, with the blue sphere adorned in stars and the red sphere bearing red and white stripes. The balloons brought out the patriot in all Parade spectators as the escorted the Statue of Liberty float along the route.

The Stars & Stripes Ornaments made an appearance outside of the Parade at the grand opening of the Millenia Mall in Central Florida, with one of the anchor stores being Macy's. The balloons were a part of a mini-Parade, which included the likes of Curious George, Cassie from Dragon Tales and a White Macy's Star.

These balloons became Parade staples, appearing in nine Parades over the course of nine years. (the balloons didn't appear in the 2001 parade) The Stars & Stripes Ornaments were retired after the 2008 Parade.

After nearly 10 years of absence, the pumped-up patriotic balloons returned to the Parade's line of march for the 2018 Macy's Parade. These balloons, known as the Americana Spheres, where first spotted at several test flights throughout fall of 2018. The balloons are similar to their predecessors, with the exception of the blue sphere's stars multiplying and the red sphere's stripes becoming much less exaggerated. These balloons were only flown once and were retired following the procession.

The Blue Americana Sphere made an appearance at a handler training event in September of 2019, alongside the Snoopy and Woodstock balloon and C.J. the Elf. Later that year, the Red Americana Sphere would appear on-stage with Celine Dion during her 2019 Parade performance at the Macy's Parade Studio, alongside two of the Opening Macy's Stars, a Blue & White Macy's Star and a Poinsettia Ornament.

The Americana Sphere balloons were originally scheduled to appear in the re-imagined 2020 Parade, but were later removed from the line of march in response to increasing COVID-19 cases in New York City, which caused the number of Parade participants to be reduced by 88%.

The Blue Americana Sphere would once again be used for test flights as it soared at both 2021 Balloon Field Training sessions. The balloon was joined by Angry Birds' Red and an Opening Macy's Star for the September 25th test flight, and Skylanders' Eruptor and the Opening Macy's Star once again for the October 3rd training session.

See also[]

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