FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Barnes & Nobel teams with Magical Balloon-dude Dale on Grand Opening

Orland Hills, IL, July 19, 2005 – Barns & Nobel located in the 1 E. Jackson Chicago, IL will be having its grand opening. To celebrate this event they have hired Chicago’s best grand opening specialist Magical Balloon-dude Dale. Dale will be entertaining customer with his balloon twisting talent and amusing them with his quick witted humor. Magical Balloon-dude Dale will be performing in the children’s section of the book store and will be entertaining families from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on July 20th. Admission is free and is open to the public.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 821 bookstores in 50 states. For the fourth year in a row, the company is the nation’s top retail brand for quality, according to the EquiTrend® Brand Study by Harris Interactive®. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites and the number one online bookseller for quality among e-commerce companies, according to the latest EquiTrend survey.

Magical Balloon-dude Dale is a Master Balloonist; this balloon entertainer is not your normal dog-making, heart-giving, sword-handing, balloon animal-making entertainer. This corporate entertainer creates latex art that will have people talking. A mix of balloon art along with comedy creates a fun-filled atmosphere that families go crazy over, making for the best corporate party entertainment. This Balloon Twister has entertained at numerous corporate and private events and is available for your next corporate event.

# # #