It has been said that the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is not just an event, it is an American tradition that ushers in the holiday season. Millions watch either from the comforts of their living rooms anywhere in the world or from the frontlines, the streets of New York City.
When the 85th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade unfolds next week, (November 24, 2011 at 9am) one Filipino-American from Queens will stand tall for having his design join the festivities. His name is Keith Lapinig, a graphics and web designer for Sleepy’s mattress company. A couple of months ago, he created an elf he named Gazer, which bested a thousand other renditions and was overwhelmingly selected by fans.
The selection of Keith’s design is just the third time in the almost 85-year history of the parade that Macy’s has let someone other than its own designers create a balloon.
Macy’s launched The Great American Elf Adventure in August with a scavenger hunt for 10,000 elves hidden in its stores nationwide, and one of Keith’s friends prodded him to join. Keith said he found one of the elves in a Long Island Macy’s and transformed it into a multicolor creation.
“I knew that majority of the contestants would probably go the safe route and have the elves in a holiday get-up. I wanted to be more unique. Whenever I design, I like to figure out what unique things I can do with it,” Keith said.
The 25-year-old artist took a hard look at his canvas and began imagining.
“For this one, I imagined something else beside an elf look, so I went the moon and I also love painting the skyline so I incorporated the New York skyline and added clouds. I also came up with a story for my elf Gazer,” he shared.
Now, Gazer’s role has transcended Thanksgiving. According to Macy’s, the elf has an important role to play in the holiday season. When not flying down the streets of Manhattan, Gazer helps fulfill the wishes of thousands of children that visit Santa Claus each year at Macy’s Herald Square.
“Once a wish is whispered to Santa Claus, it becomes a star, which Gazer then guides safely to the North Pole,” Keith said.
The star, of course, has become a Macy’s emblem. This star takes a prominent spot on Gazer’s hat. Keith also incorporated other celestial elements into his design, like the surface of the moon on Gazer’s face, the Manhattan skyline on his feet and the wishing star trail that wraps around his body.
The balloons make up a major component of this parade, which travels down Central Park West from 77th Street to Columbus Circle along Central Park South to 7th Avenue, down 7th Avenue to 42nd Street, along 42nd Street to 6th Avenue, down 6th Avenue to 34th Street and along 34th Street to Macy’s Herald Square.
Asked if the new of his winning has sunk in yet, Keith let out a laugh.
“It will probably fully sink in when I see my balloon floating down New York City streets. Right now, I am just taking it in little by little. I appreciate all the comments that I’ve been getting. I’m really excited,” he shared.
Born and raised in New York, Keith has witnessed the annual festivities every single year, even going to the parade with his family when he was little.
Now, he is beyond excited to witness the parade on an altogether new level.
“I actually haven’t been to the parade live in person since I was little. My parents tell me I have seen it in person, but I guess I was too young to remember it. Instead I have been watching it on TV throughout the years, and my favorite float to date has been the Foster’s Home of Imaginary Friends one. I’m very excited to finally go see the parade at an age where I can retain memories of it for the rest of my life,” Keith said.
The Great American Elf Adventure
“Macy’s Great American Elf Adventure gave fans across the country the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a piece of Macy’s parade magic,” said Amy Kule, executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “We received amazingly creative submissions from across the country and narrowing down the Top 85 was a difficult task.”
Ultimately, Keith’s heartfelt design and story for Gazer Elf captured the imagination and votes of a national trove of Macy’s parade fans.
“We are thrilled to take his vision to new heights and transform what he created into a helium wonder and the newest member of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Elf family,” Kule added.
Keith’s unique design will be transformed into a flying wonder by the artists at Macy’s Parade Studio who will replicate the vision onto a 34 foot-tall balloon that will join the 85th parade line-up.
Since 1947, the iconic Macy’s elf balloons have been fan favorites and for generations have served as an emblem of the Macy’s parade. Recreated in 2000, the Elf has grown into a family consisting of C.J., Charlie and Kit which each year guide Santa Claus down the parade route.
“I am flabbergasted at winning this contest. It’s my dream and I want to thank all of the people who voted for me. I can honestly say that now I feel accomplished as an artist,” said Keith when he was informed that he was the winner.
Macy’s officials didn’t reveal that he had already won. They told him that the Daily News wanted to interview one of the 85 finalists.
“They convinced me to come to the city on the guise that I was the only New York finalist. I thought it was a simple interview but when I got there, the people began congratulating me. It all happened so fast. I was shaking for about ten minutes,” Keith said.
“My mom was the first person I called. She said, ‘Thank you, Lord. Praise God!’,” he added.
In addition to having his design made into a Macy’s parade balloon, Keith won VIP seating and accommodations for himself and three guests to enjoy his elf’s maiden flight in front of more than 3.5 million spectators and more than 50 million television viewers.
Macy’s Great American Elf Adventure kicked off on August 9 and saw Elf models hidden in 669 Macy’s stores and distributed at select locations covering all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico. The top 85 best entries were selected by a team of Macy’s parade officials, and Macy’s Facebook fans selected the winner.
Growing in size and scale, the parade marches down a more than 2-mile route in New York City with more than 8,000 participants in tow, including Macy’s employees, their families, celebrities, athletes, clowns and dance groups spreading holiday cheer. The parade also features America’s best marching bands, fabulous floats and Macy’s signature giant helium character balloons.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(NYNJ Nov 18-24, 2011 LifeEASTyle pg.2)
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