In 2007, the journal Puppetry International published a first person account of being a balloon handler.

Performers from the Orlando area are cast as various clowns, and the park used to invite guests to be "balloon handlers" for the parade.

That accident had led to a mayoral task force and promises by Macy's of, among other things, more training for its balloon handlers.

But throughout the morning, balloon handlers struggled to keep control.

She volunteered to be a balloon handler, and started a new family tradition by returning every year since.

There was high drama as the balloon handlers and the police tried to control the airborne chaos.

When the Garfield balloon got caught in the gust, one balloon handler slipped and fell.

Ms. Reardon also said that a physical fitness test that had been mandatory for balloon handlers the year after the 1997 accident was no longer required.

A balloon handler cursed as he opened his gloves and discovered he had been given two left ones.

First-timers can be clowns, float escorts, balloon handlers and chaperones for children.