Stamford Downtown Parade Spectacular
Hello everyone!
It’s almost the end of October, so I think you all know what that means!
I’ll give you a hint, it’s something that everyone looks forward to year after year!
That’s right! I’m talking about the Stamford Downtown Parade Spectacular! What else would I be talking about? I mean, as we all know at the time when I am writing this, October 24, there is absolutely nothing that people look forward to celebrating between then and November 22 and November 23.
As someone who has been going to the parade for literally my entire life, I feel that it makes me kind of an unofficial ambassador for it, which also makes it my responsibility to write about what you can expect from this years parade.
Before I get into that though, I would like to talk about some balloons from years past that probably won’t be in the parade anymore, either due to relevancy of the character, the size of the balloon, or the fact that the balloon just straight up doesn’t exist anymore.
One balloon that was there for many years that sadly won’t be there anymore is Bear In The Big Blue House. Yeah, isn’t that a throwback, those of you who actually know what that is? Sadly, despite how much it upsets my mom, he won’t be in the parade again for two reasons. The first is that the parade has introduced some unofficial size requirements that he definitely exceeds, and unfortunately, nobody knows who he is anymore. For those of you who don’t know who he is, here’s a picture of him.
Another balloon that won’t be coming back anytime soon is one that was one of my favorites when I was younger, Thomas The Tank Engine. I remember where I was when I first found out he was going to be in the parade. I was at home, because my dad would have had to print out the list of balloons at work and bring it home, since we didn’t have any internet at the time. This memory is not as impressive as it seems, that is literally how we used to live our lives here in my house. While Thomas fits the size requirements perfectly, and his balloon still exists, I don’t think he’s as relevant in 2025 as he was in the 2000s.
Another balloon that won’t be coming back ever again, and this is one of the most unfortunate ones ever, Paddington Bear. He was definitely a favorite among my family, and clearly among the people in charge of the parade, as he was brought back year after year, but unfortunately, the balloon doesn’t exist anymore. If you’re wondering what I mean by that, I will explain. All the characters that I have been talking about so far are copyrighted characters, so they are licensed for the balloon companies to make balloons of them, and I guess at some point the license either runs out or the companies don’t feel like having the balloon around anymore, so that balloon is retired, and unfortunately, Paddington Bear was one of the victims.
Another balloon that won’t be coming back anytime soon is one that I am shocked they even had in the first place, Hagar The Horrible. For those of you who don’t know who that is, which I imagine is every one of you reading this right now, he is a newspaper comic strip viking. Yes, that’s his entire claim to fame, and he was introduced to the parade in 2011, and returned the following year in 2012. I will always find it bizarre that in the years where Adele and Nicki Minaj were beginning to take over the world and The Avengers had started the global domination of superhero movies, Stamford had a comic strip viking that the only person familiar with him was my uncle, who is also the only person to say it’s his favorite balloon. I love the parade a lot, and I am also good friends with the people in charge of the parade currently, but even I will admit that in the past, they had some very bizarre choices for balloons.
Another balloon that I don’t think will be coming back anytime soon is one that was a regular over the years, Bob The Builder. The story with him is actually kind of interesting, as his balloon used to be 35 feet tall, and was kind of short and stocky, like the character. Then, the character got a redesign, and in turn, so did the balloon. What was once an average sized 35 foot balloon became a tall and skinny 45 foot balloon that I don’t even know if it ever stood up straight whenever it was in the parade. In his final year at the parade, something went wrong, and I’m not entirely sure how it even happened.
When Bob The Builder finally got to us, I noticed something was wrong…
He was missing his left arm!
Yes, you read that correctly. The balloon was missing an arm. And the craziest part is that there wasn’t even a hole where the arm should be. It was perfectly patched up.
He actually was going to be in the parade the following year, but for whatever reason, his sponsor chose to go with a different balloon, and my friend in charge of the parade initially chose to shop him around to a different sponsor, but after some thinking, she felt that he was too big, and chose to go with a smaller balloon. This is why I don’t think he’ll be in the parade again.
Another balloon that won’t be coming back anytime soon is one that was a great addition to the parade at the right time, The Lorax. He first appeared in the parade in 2012, which is also the year that The Lorax movie came out, which was perfect timing for him being in the parade, and I feel that he stopped being in the parade because after a few years, he faded back into obscurity.
So, unofficial height rules are why we won’t see balloons like Big Bird, Kermit The Frog, and Cat In The Hat again, relevancy is why we won’t see balloons like Underdog, Beetle Bailey, Fred Flintstone, Red From Fraggle Rock, and Popeye, and being straight up retired is why we won’t see the Octonauts ever again.
So, now that I have gotten this tribute out of the way, here is what you can expect from this year’s parade!
One of the first things you should all know to expect is that every year, during the Inflation Party and at the parade the next day, they always have some type of special entertainment. Sometimes it’s acrobats from Cirque Tacular Entertainment, one year it was an extreme pogo stick team called XPogo Stunt Team, two years it was a BMX stunt team, and three years it was daredevil and circus performer Bello Nock.
This year, the entertainment is going to be Flippenout Extreme Trampoline Show, who will be part of the parade for the fourth time, making them the most recurring entertainment acts in the history of the parade. Their act consists of them doing amazing tricks on a trampoline, including jumping on it with skis and a snowboard.
There will also be an appearance from the Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard, who has been a part of every single parade, except for two years when the weather was really bad.
There will also be several dance troupes in the parade, almost all of which return year after year.
The first dance troupe is Center Stage Dance Studio, which is located in Stamford.
The next dance troupe is City Center Dance Performing Company, which is from White Plains.
The next dance troupe is Dance On The DL, which is from Darien, Connecticut.
The next dance troupe is Locust Performing Arts Center of Stamford, which is located right up the road from where the Inflation Party is held, which they are also the entertainment of.
The next dance troupe is The Pulse Performing Arts Studio’s Nova Jazz, which is located in Bedford Hills.
The next dance troupe is one that is new this year, Ballet Folklorico De Las Americas, which is located in Stamford.
The last dance troupe is another one that is new this year, The Ballet School of Stamford, and if you want to know where they’re from, just read their name again, and you’ll have your answer.
There are also going to be performances from several marching bands.
The first marching band is the Fairfield County Pipe And Drum Band.
The next marching band is the NYPD Emerald Society Pipe And Drum Band.
The next marching band is the Westhill High School Marching Band from Stamford.
The next marching band is the Brentwood High School Marching Band, which is from Brentwood in Long Island.
The next marching band is the Uniondale High School Marching Band, which is from Uniondale in Long Island.
The next marching band is the Wyandanch High School Marching Band, which is from Wyandanch in Long Island.
The next marching band is the JFK High School Marching Band from Waterbury, Connecticut.
The last marching band is the Port Chester High School Marching Band, which is from Port Chester, right here in Westchester County.
The next part of the parade that they have year after year is the floats.
To clarify what I am referring to when I talk about floats, here is what they are. I know that some of you reading might mix up the balloons and the floats, so now I am going to clarify that the floats are extravagant creations on flatbeds that are pulled by pickup trucks.
While we currently do not know exactly what floats are going to be in the parade this year, as we are currently at a point where they typically have the same ones every year, I think it’s safe to assume that this trend will continue this year.
The first float that I am positive will be in the parade this year is the one that is always the last one every year, and that is a float that features Santa.
The next float that I am positive will be in the parade this year is the Stamford Teacher Of The Year Float, which is one that they are so committed to having that when the parade returned in 2022, the float honored the recipients of 2022 and 2021.
The next float that I am fairly sure will be in the parade this year is the one for Connecticut radio station Star 99.9, which has been a part of the parade since its return in 2022. And since I first wrote this post, I have now learned that this float will be part of the Parade.
The last float that I am positive will be part of the parade is the Flippenout Extreme Trampoline Show Float. Yes, that’s right. They will be doing their extreme trampoline act on a moving flatbed. And I know this because they have done it before.
Alright, now let’s get on to the most exciting part of all, the balloons!
There are going to be a total of 15 Balloons this year, and as I am writing this, we only know ten of them, so I am writing this part in hopes that it will result in the last five balloons being announced this week, and if they are, I am leaving this part in anyway because it’s funny.
The first Balloon they have announced is Clifford The Big Red Dog, who I feel I can perfectly describe as having an on again off again relationship with the parade. I am not making that up, as sometimes he takes a few years off, and then he comes back a few years later, much like he is doing this year. He has always been one of my favorite Balloons, and as my mom said, he’s the only Balloon that is actual size.
The next Balloon they have announced is Elmo, who is a Balloon that I feel will be part of the parade until they decide to stop having it.
The next Balloon they have announced is Mistletoe The Snowman. For those of you who have no idea who that is, there is a good reason for that. He is not a real character. He is a generic Snowman Balloon that the Balloon Company gave a name. If you don’t believe me, here’s a picture of him. I still think he’s a great Balloon though.
The next Balloon they have announced is Mr. Potato Head, who is another Balloon that I am positive will be part of the parade until they decide not to do it anymore.
The next Balloon they have announced is Oscar The Grouch, and for those of you who don’t know who that is, he’s the garbage can guy from Sesame Street. He’s another Balloon that has become something of a regular in recent years, as he is always sponsored by WIN Waste Innovations.
The next Balloon they have announced is Peppa Pig, who has been a regular at the parade since her introduction a few years ago, but was also weirdly not part of the parade last year.
The next Balloon they have announced is Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. And in case you were wondering, yes, it’s specifically the one from the old TV special. It’s not a generic reindeer with a red nose on it that they decided to call Rudolph.
The next Balloon they have announced is Shrek, who has been in the parade every year since his introduction, which tells me that he will be in the parade for a very long time. And for those of you who are wondering how they are able to afford such a massive movie character, allow me to explain. Shrek is owned by DreamWorks, which is part of NBCUniversal, which has offices and a TV studio in Stamford Downtown, which is why they are able to afford him.
The next Balloon they have announced is Super Grover, who was last in the parade in 2016. If you are wondering how I am able to remember this, allow me to explain. Aside from the fact that I have almost superhuman memory, back in 2016, the person in charge of the parade asked me to help pick a Balloon for that year, and she gave me a few choices, and the Balloon that I ultimately ended up picking was Super Grover. So, it’s cool to see him back in the parade again, and as my mom has said many times, he’s the only Flying Balloon.
The last Balloon that they have announced so far is a new one for this year, Bumble The Abominable Snowman from Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. As soon as I saw that one of the Balloon Companies had made a Balloon of him, I knew that he was going to be in the Parade, and I am so happy that he finally is.
And, that’s all the Balloons we know so far. There are still five that we don’t know, but I have a theory about them.
My theory is that any number of them or all five of them are Non-Copyright Balloons.
I came to this theory because last year, when they put out press releases for the Parade, even after the full list of Balloons had been published on the Stamford Downtown website, they only mentioned the Balloons that were Copyright Characters, meaning that only 9 out of 15 Balloons were mentioned, and as of right now, only 10 out of 15 Balloons are known, so we could be in a similar situation.
If you are wondering which Balloons I think it could be, I will now go over some of them, which have all been in the parade in the last few years.
The first Balloon that I feel could be one is Gingerbread Boy, which is a Balloon that has been something of a regular in recent years, and is just one of the cutest Balloons they have ever had.
The next Balloon that I feel could be one is UConn Husky, as UConn has campuses right in Stamford Downtown, and they also sponsor a Balloon in the Parade, which was UConn Husky last year. Side note, the UConn Husky has a name, and it’s Jonathan, in honor of the first state Governor of Connecticut. I don’t know about all of you, but I think that’s a very weird name and a weird rationale for the name. I personally think a better name for the UConn Husky would be Ginuwine. Also, I am going to give a million points to anyone who understands that reference.
The next Balloon that I feel could be one is an Octopus Balloon, simply because it has been in the Parade for the last two years, and I understand why. It’s a great Balloon.
The next Balloon that I feel could be one is a Peace Sign, as it has been in the last two Parades with the same sponsor. For those of you who are wondering what a Balloon like this could even look like, here’s a picture of it.
Yeah, just look at that. It is certainly the most outlandish Balloon the parade has ever had. I remember my parents said that it looked like something out of the movie Yellow Submarine, and I completely agree with them. And I absolutely love this Balloon.
That was four Balloons, but I am unsure about other Non-Copyright Characters they have had in the past, as they have all been in the Parade for one year each.
Also, you might be wondering how I can even come to this theory, as when I was going over the confirmed Balloons for this year, I literally said the name of a Non-Copyright Character, but I have an answer for that. Mistletoe The Snowman actually has a name, so they included him with all the other headliners, rather than lumping him in with the Not Ready For Primetime Players.
But if it turns out that any one of these unknown Balloons is a Copyright Character, I have some good theories there based on regulars in the Parade that are weirdly currently missing from the list.
These regulars that are not part of the Parade yet include:
PBS character Daniel Tiger.
Beloved book character The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
DreamWorks character Kung Fu Panda.
And one of the most famous cartoon characters of all time, Scooby Doo.
Or, I could be completely wrong, and it’s five completely different Balloons entirely.
Also, if the full list of everything in this year’s Parade gets published this week, I’m going to leave in all these areas of ambiguity and guessing, because it will be funnier that way.
Well, as I said, I would update this post after all the information and the last five Balloons were revealed. Well, today I found out that a press release was published, and now the last five Balloons have been revealed, so here they are!
The first Balloon that has been added is a new one called Aliel The Zoonicorn. Yes, that is actually her name, I am not misspelling anything. In fact, autocorrect tried to change the name Aliel to All while I was writing this. For those of you who are wondering who that is, which is definitely all of you reading, she is a character from a web series called Zoonicorns.
The next Balloon that has been added is another new one, A Neko Good Fortune Cat. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a Japanese figurine of a cat that has a mechanical arm, which many of you have probably seen at Japanese restaurants.
The next Balloon that has been added is Jonathan The UConn Husky. This is one of the Balloons that I predicted would be in the Parade this year, as UConn has a campus in Stamford, so this doesn't surprise me. I still think that Jonathan is a very weird name though, and I feel that they should have gone with a much more conventional name like Ginuwine. Again, a million points to anyone who understands that reference.
The next Balloon that has been added is an Astronaut Balloon. This is in my opinion, a very cool Balloon. For those of you who are curious as to what it looks like, here's a picture of it.
Overall, that’s everything we have in store for this year’s Parade! I am looking forward to it very much, and I will talk about it again, after it happens!
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