PDA

View Full Version : Festival of Balloons at Disneyland - Sunday, May 2



AVP
05-01-2004, 09:44 AM
If you have been at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels or walked Downtown Disney over the last few days, you've probably noticed a heck of a lot of balloons around the place. The 20th annual International Balloon Arts Convention (IBAC) is underway at the Disneyland Hotel this week.

The convention is an industry education event, and balloon artists and event decorators come from around the world to take classes and compete in various categories - delivery bouquets, centerpieces, small sculpture, large sculpture and entertaining. I attended IBAC for 5 years for my previous business, and it's been a lot of fun for me to get to see my friends and former colleagues again since they conveniently brought the convention to my back yard.

The convention opens to the public during the Festival of Balloons this coming Sunday. Festival is open from 10 - 2. Admission is $5 for 13 and older, 12 and under are free. You'll get to tour the competition room and see all of the entries, plus there are balloon entertainers around to watch. I got a sneak peek at the sculptures yesterday. There are fewer than I remember from past years, but there are some really nice ones - one is a 16' tall Yoda.

So, if you happen to be in the resort Sunday and have the kids in tow, check out the Festival. This is the first time the convention has been held in Southern California, and it probably won't be back for another 20 years.

AVP

Ghoulish Delight
05-01-2004, 11:49 AM
Here is an example (http://members.tripod.com/~The_Blue_Torpedo/balloon.html) of the fine work you might see at the festival.

EandCDad
05-01-2004, 12:31 PM
The convention opens to the public during the Festival of Balloons this coming Sunday. Festival is open from 10 - 2.

AVP, where exactly is the competition room? Is it in the Disneyland Hotel itself or the Convention Center?

Ghoulish Delight
05-01-2004, 12:35 PM
AVP, where exactly is the competition room? Is it in the Disneyland Hotel itself or the Convention Center?The sign we saw at the resort only mentioned the DLH.

disneylandia
05-01-2004, 02:34 PM
The had a bit about this on KTLA morning news Friday. It looked fun, and I wish I could go (gotta work). They did some amazing things with balloons!

Not Afraid
05-01-2004, 05:32 PM
Here is an example (http://members.tripod.com/~The_Blue_Torpedo/balloon.html) of the fine work you might see at the festival.
HEY! I think they used a padder as a model for that ballon sculpture!:fez:

DCAWhites
05-01-2004, 11:18 PM
When I first saw this thread I thought disneyland was going to do the kind of stuff that they did up until the late 80s again. That is, to release tens of thousand of balloons from the resort at the same time like I saw footage of from the 80s on cast tv. Kind of politically incorrect to do that now...

mamabot
05-01-2004, 11:32 PM
HEY! I think they used a padder as a model for that ballon sculpture!:fez:

Nope, he was a last minute substitution after the Red Queen came through and screeched "Off With Their Balloon Heads!" :fez: