For the third time in its thousand-year-old history, Brussels is on the point of accommodating, on Saturday, 10 September 2011, its Balloon Day Parade. Giant balloons representing well-known cartoon characters will be parading along the downtown boulevards.
Smurfs, Gaston Lagaffe and their accomplices will slip on their seven league boots to brush the Bourse and bestride Place De Brouckère with a gigantic step. Little and large will be lucky enough to see their favourite cartoon characters sauntering in the centre of the capital to the sound of brass bands. Based on the American model, this parade of inflated helium balloons will last for more than three hours, thus giving the city a bit of a carnival air. Whether you are comic strip fans, lovers of "made in the USA" festivities or quite simply curious about it all: feel free to go!Elliott Brilmaker
