The biggest department store in town organized a parade every year: an enormous balloon in the shape of a garishly colored doll was paraded through the main streets, pulled by ribbons that sequin-clad girls held as they marched behind a musical band.

NEWYORKER: The Daughters of the Moon

Researchers said the negative vertebroplasty findings raise questions about the effectiveness of a related procedure called kyphoplasty, in which the cement is injected after a small balloon is inflated to restore the shape of the broken vertebra.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The weeklong festivities include fireworks and concerts and showcase all manner of dazzling displays, from a special shape rodeo to lighted nighttime " balloon glows, " but the climax is the handful of spectacular mass ascensions in which all participants take to the sky in two waves.

CNN: 7 breathtaking ballooning adventures

Some of the changes for volunteers include a physical fitness test, lessons in the physics of balloon-handling and a free three-month gym membership to help them shape up.

CNN: balloon

Kai-Lan makes the shape of a heart with her hands, sending a bright-red heart into the air like a balloon.

NEWYORKER: It��s Good Enough For Me