Fall is announced by lower temperatures, pumpkin lattes, and most importantly, the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
For the 85th anniversary of balloons floating through the streets of one of the most iconic cities in the world, Macy’s decided to celebrate with a design contest. This is only the third time that Macy’s has allowed an outside designer to create its balloon in its 85 year history!
In August, Macy’s began the contest by hiding 10,000 blank elves throughout its stores across the country. Designers and fans scoured the stores in a scavenger hunt to find one of these blank elves and take a stab at turning it into their vision for the holiday elf by painting directly on it.
The winner of the “Macy’s Great American Elf Adventure” was Keith Lapining, a web graphics artist for Sleepy’s Mattress Company in New York.
Lapining’s whimsical and celestial elf, dubbed ‘Gazer,’ was selected by online voters from thousands of contestants to float through the streets of New York on Turkey Day as the Macy’s balloon. “I saw it had a round body and a round face …so I thought of the moon,” Lapinig said. “I had the New York skyline at the bottom and I love doing clouds as well. I wanted to incorporate the Macy’s logo, so I kept that as well.”
We can’t wait to see Lapining’s design and all of the others on Thanksgiving Day! Curious about the 85 years of balloons that made history? Macy’s picked their favorite designs from past parades for all to enjoy!
