The world of balloon entertainment, by Dale Obrochta
Bring Mario to a Birthday Party This past month, I had a request from a client to bring a Super Mario Brothers character, Mario, to a birthday party. I typically don’t do this because of the logistics of performing several birthday parties shows a weekend and worry about breaking or deflating before it gets to the client. However, this was … Read more
I had the opportunity to meet Sandi Sylver and her girls this past week at the Centre East Showcase. Sandi was a couple of booths down from me, and Toodles fell in love with my balloon creations. She likes them so much that she provide me with this testimonial. Thanks, Toodles, for the kind words. … Read more
Problems with Theme Parties and Solutions to Make them Better Over the past 25 years, I have been at many 1st birthday theme parties and seen many problems with the planning of the event. I will explain some of the main problems that occur when having a themed party. These problems occur both in the … Read more
Tricks to do with soap bubbles With just a little jar of soap bubbles and a straw, you can amaze people. The cost of the materials is cheap, yet the effect is awesome! Tom Noddy, Louis Pearl, Finn Jonn and more are/were pioneers in the field. Search the word, soap bubble magic, in You Tube … Read more
A baby’s 1st birthday party is a special occasion for many families. Parents dig deep into their pockets to through a lavish birthday party for family and friends. Entertainers have to realize that parties that have extra meaning to the client will spend more money. These are the events that an entertainer can add extras … Read more
Many folks know that Dale Obrochta, aka Magical Balloon-dude Dale, has been educating the world with balloons for years as an entertainer and as host and principal writer of several online sites like the MBD2 site, which includes a Forum, Store, Dale’s Blog, the MBD2 Article Section, and the Balloon Animal Database; a MySpace directory; … Read more
One of the advantages of entertaining at a baby’s 1st birthday party is that I can interact with parents. In the early days, people assumed I had kids. “Kids? None yet.” That was my reply. “I am still collecting Duct tape and Velcro.” I would put them in a Velcro suit and stick them to … Read more
Oops, I missed another family birthday party. Not on purpose–I was working. My relatives have learned not to expect me at family events when it is on the weekend. They know that I will be performing my comedic balloon entertainment somewhere in Chicago and neighboring communities. My wife, Michelle, will mark off dates on my … Read more
“Did you just break that balloon?” is a comment from a guest attending a 1st birthday party. “Yes, I did” is my reply. In fact, it seems I cannot make a balloon animal nowadays without breaking a balloon. It is ironic that the more skilled I become at twisting balloons animals, the more efficient I … Read more
Insurance is one of those things in life that you hope you will never need to use, but if something does happen, you have it. Early in my entertainment career, I was only working one or two birthday parties a month and the thought of insurance never entered my mind. Like most beginning entertainers, we … Read more