All you need is confetti

There they were, maybe a million strong, and they were all singing, “All You Need is Love.”

That alone would have been a sight for almost anyone, but it was especially amazing and poignant to Treb Heining as he directed his trademark confetti drop for the Times Square New Year’s Eve countdown. It was the year 2000, and despite doomsday predictions from too many crackpots that the world’s computers would all shut down, New Yorkers and all those countdown-loving tourists stood there defiantly reveling in the moment as they do every year. Each hour, as a new nation or part of America celebrated a countdown, the ball would drop and Heining and his troops would hurl confetti from neighboring rooftops. When it was London’s turn, the Beatles classic rang out and the crowd joined in with the Fab Four’s refrain as one.

“It’s amazing when you get a whole crowd of people on the same wavelength,” the Newport Beach man said, recalling the memory with amazement. “A lot of people can’t remember where they were last year on New Year’s Eve, but I can tell you exactly where I was the last 18 years, and hopefully for the next 18 years. I’ll be doing this as long as they’ll have me.”

Judging by the praise Heining receives from his boss, that’ll be a long time.

“He is Mr. Calm, Cool and Collected,” said Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance, the business district that sponsors the annual New Year’s Eve party in midtown Manhattan. “He’s such a very cool, organized team player. You want that — it’s one less thing to worry about.”

Heining got his start in the crazy business of mega-party special effects when he was 15 selling balloons at Disneyland. Now known as the father of balloon decorating, he started a company in the late ’70s as word spread about his elaborate balloon displays. There have been many highlights since then, including the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics, Academy Award nights, GOP national conventions and the Times Square New Year’s Eve shows each year.

About the mid-1990s, Heining turned over the New Year’s Eve balloon job to another expert, Danny McGowan.

“I’m known as the Balloon Man, but I didn’t want to have the distraction so I called Danny and he handles it,” Heining said.