Hundreds of Volunteers Practice BALLOON MANEUVERING For McDonald's THANKSGIVING PARADE at the Annual PARADE SCHOOL

    CHICAGO, IL, November 05, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ --

WHO: Hundreds of volunteers get valuable hands-on practice maneuvering a giant balloon of Curious George as part of...

WHAT: The annual Parade School, a one-day session for balloon volunteers taking part in the nationally televised 2015 McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade.

Over 350 volunteers will take turns handling the balloon's 32 ropes as they balance, rotate and travel with the balloon. This is an opportunity to see the work and group dexterity that goes into making parade balloons look so effortless.

WHEN: Saturday, November 7, 2015

TIME: 9:45 a.m. - 10:45a.m.

WHERE: Museum of Science and Industry, Great Lawn
5700 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60637

**YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO COVER**
Phil Purevich, Executive Director of the Chicago Festival Association, plus additional Parade volunteers, will be available for interview.

DETAILS: Parade School prepares volunteers for the upcoming 2015 McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, marching up State Street on Thanksgiving Day, November 26 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Actor, writer, director, producer, and star of Broadway In Chicago's SHERLOCK HOMES, David Arquette will serve as the Grand Marshal of this year's Parade. Arquette will be joined by co-host and judge on Fox Network's hit cooking competitions, MasterChef and MasterChef Jr., Graham Elliot. Alongside these celebrities, this year's lineup includes over 100 diverse and remarkable group performances, including the high-energy Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents Circus XTREME and the always popular Million Dollar Quartet, plus giant character balloons including Tweety, Hello Kitty, Plex, Arthur and many more.

The McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade takes place rain or shine, Thursday, November 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., on State Street, in Chicago. Parade is broadcast live on WGN 9 Chicago locally and WGN America nationally from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (CST) Thanksgiving morning. For more information about the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, visit Chicago Festival Association online at www.chicagofesitvals.org.

For more information about the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, contact the Chicago Festival Association at 312-235-2216 or visit www.chicagofestivals.org.

About MOCNI
McDonald's Owner/Operators of Chicago and Northwest Indiana represent more than 100 franchisees and nearly 500 restaurants throughout the greater Chicagoland region, including stores as far north as Gurnee, west as Marengo, south as Watseka and east to Northwest Indiana. MOCNI manages and facilitates all marketing, sports, community relations, educational and philanthropic programs throughout the region, and is responsible for implementing and maintaining consistency at every Chicagoland restaurant.
Visit MOCNI on Instagram and Twitter - @McD_Chicago

About Chicago Festival Association
The Chicago Festival Association is a unique organization with the mission of producing community events that positively impact the people of the city of Chicago, its guests and visitors. With a full-time staff of two, augmented by seasonal production assistants and over a thousand of hard-working volunteers, the Chicago Festival Association strives to ensure the best in free family-entertainment for the hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans on the Parade route and the millions viewing the national broadcast.

The McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade takes place rain or shine, Thursday, November 26, from 8 to 11 a.m., on State Street, in Chicago. For more information about the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, visit Chicago Festival Association online at www.chicagofestivals.org.

# # #