I Want You to have a great summer.

Ah the wonderful days of Summer are upon us.  Such a great time for cookouts, camping, or just vegging out in front of the television.  Your favorite family friendly entertainers from Greenville and beyond are gearing up for lots of Summer activities too.   We will be entertaining as clowns, balloon twisters, magicians, face painters, and costumed characters at hundreds of birthday parties this Summer.  But we will also be entertaining at camps, learning some new skills, and may even take the time to have a few days of vacation here and there.  Here is some of what we are doing this summer.

Balloon Twisting and Balloon Decorating

Summer is a busy time for decorating at weddings and festivals. Joy Set Entertainment has balloon twisting and balloon decorating lined up. We will also be learning some new designs at TJAM on the Road in June. This is a really cool event for balloon artists of all skill levels. The Tie Dye Balloon Guy is heading to the Richmond, VA event to hang out with a lot of other balloon artists. There is going to be a lot of talent in that room. I can’t wait!

July brings Ballooniversity to the Atlanta, GA area. Many masters of balloon decoration are going to be sharing some of their secrets. There is even a competition for balloon twisters. Yeah!

This Summer you can spot the Tie Dye Balloon Guy doing balloon twisting at restaurants in Greenville and Spartanburg, SC.

Face Painting

There are also going to be some great training opportunities for face painting as well. Paula will be taking some time to get to Atlanta for some additional training and new techniques.

Naturally we will still be doing lots of face painting at birthday parties and festivals all summer long.

Summer Camps

Of course when the artists and performers at Joy Set Entertainment are not learning new techniques, we are teaching them to others or just sharing our talent. We have already done four summer camps so far and have an additional four slated for later on. At the end of July, we will be teaching for one week in Ashville, NC.

VBS or Vacation Bible School

Camps aren’t the only place where you might see Joy Set Entertainment this summer. We also will be doing many VBS programs. Whether it is a kickoff event, or a closing celebration, or one of our weeklong kids krusades Joy Set Entertainment can be an integral part of a VBS program.

To learn more about our Summer programs check out our special link here.

Mother’s Day will be here in just a few days.  I wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks Mom for helping to make me a better entertainer.  Joy Set Entertainment has become a respected and recommended family friendly company in Greenville, SC and beyond.   As I was growing up my Mom taught me little life lessons and made other contributions that formed the basis for the man … er … clown I would become.  Here is what my Mom did for me:

• Let me be a clown: This one is literally true.  One of my favorite Halloween costumes ever was the year I dressed up as Bozo the Clown.  But Mom was also always a little extra patient with me and my silliness.  She let me explore my funny side.  And thanks for not believing all those others who just said I was “hyper” or had “ADD.”  Now I get to clown all over SC and be paid for it.
• Encouraged me to be artistic:  My Mom, like other Moms, would always proudly display my artistic creations on the refrigerator.  I will admit that sometimes my art was very primitive.  But she encouraged me, whether I was drawing a life size picture of myself, painting a clay bird, 0r gluing popsicle sticks to make a scale model of the Leaning Tower.  Of course today I get to explore my artistic side by being one of the best balloon twisters in Greenville, SC.   As a balloon artist I am amazed at the level the entire industry has achieved.   And my talented wife (one of the best face painters in Greenville, SC) is trying to get me in touch with my face painting side.
• Taught me that magicians are cool:  At the time it was just a simple magic act.  But my Mom’s response after one of the tricks made a lifelong impression on me.  We were both watching a magician performing on stage, and my Mom simply said “That was cool.”  In that one brief moment, the parent and the child entered the same world of suspended disbelief and we allowed ourselves to simply be entertained.  Thus at the end of that show, two equally important thoughts were going through my head: (1) I want to do that when I am older, and (2) My Mom thinks its cool!   And of course today I have studied and learned many magical effects.  I regularly include some comedy magic in my shows.  So if you are looking for a comedy magician in Greenville, SC give me a call.  And be sure to thank my Mom

Many people and corporations are starting to be more earth concious.  I think that is a great thing as long as it is sincere and based on reason.  How about hiring a balloon twister for your next event.  Why not?  Balloons are definately earth friendly. 

Balloons that are used for balloon twisting or balloon decorating come from plants.  More specifically they come from the sap produced by the rubber tree plant.  Balloons are actually biodegradeable and will degrade about as quickly as a leaf from a tree will.  If you have ever seen me twist balloons around Greenville, SC, then you know that I keep all of my scraps in my apron.  Sometimes I will use a small piece of balloon in another larger balloon sculpture or sometimes I will turn them into balloon bracelets.  There are lots of great ways to recycle with balloons!

Also whenever I entertain at birthday parties or particularly school festivals, I try to educate children about balloon safety.  This safety lesson includes always making sure to properly dispose of broken balloon pieces.    I encourage you to do whatever you can to be a good steward of this fantastic planet we live on.  But please don’t be afraid to incorporate a balloon artist into your entertainment needs.

We receive many calls looking for a balloon twister to come make some of our awesome balloon creations.  Yet, sometimes they say they will get someone in the family to face paint for them, thinking face painting does not take special supplies or extraordinary skill.  This is not true, however.  And sometimes, we encounter school festivals that are trying to maximize their budget by purchasing cheaper paints that are not designed for faces.

 The paint: When I first started painting faces, I made the mistake of not using face friendly paints. I have since corrected that error. Joy Set Entertainment uses only paints that are FDA approved for faces. The paints we choose go on smoothly and dry quickly on faces. They have creams and antibacterial ingredients built right into the paints. The paints also come off easily with soap and water.  Please!  Do not make a potentially serious mistake of using paints that are designed for metal or wood on human skin.

 The skill: Although natural talent is a help, there are classes available to learn face painting techniques. It was in one of these classes that I learned how to create full-face designs. There is something about a child looking at themselves in the mirror and grinning from ear to ear. They “become” the animal they were painted and start running with the other painted children. 

 Therefore, if you are interested in having professional entertainment at your birthday or corporate event, please hire the balloon artist, but hire the face painter as well.

I wish this were my stretched limo, but it was just a loaner for a party

  One of my kids favorite songs is “How Many Clowns Can You Cram in a Car?”  And I will admit that I kind of like the song as well.  Since I have to drive all over Greenville, SC to entertain at birthday parties or do balloon twisting at restaurants, I spend a lot of time in my car.  If you also add in my trips to Anderson or Spartanburg, SC AND my annual trip to Cincinnati, OH for a balloon convention I spend a whole lot of time in my car.  Many people have vehicles that are reflections of their personalities.  And I guess that being an entertainer in the Upstate of SC I would have to have lots of personality.  I do comedy magic, I am a balloon twister, I even perform occassionally as a clown.  Here are some things that you will likely find in my car. 

• Balloons – I generally have a few bags of balloons somewhere.  You never know when you might be called to do a balloon delivery, or just get a chance to brighten someone’s day with a twisted creation.
• Markers - While I can make some pretty incredible balloon sculptures, markers can help add the finishing touches.
• Magic Tricks - Whether I am a birthday entertainer, or a corporate entertainer, I usually like to add some comedy magic to the show.  Some of the tricks even involve balloons which is an added bonus for me!
• Face Paints – my wife is the real talent here, but I am learning more to be a better face painter
• CDs – Since I might be driving for an hour or more, why not make my time a little more useful.  I like to listen to audio books on marketing, goal setting, and even jokes on compact disc.
• Gum – I have lost 24 pounds, but when I am in the car snacks can be a real temptation.   I don’t have any teachers around, so I can chew – chew away on some sugar free gum.
• Clown nose – I keep my red clown nose in my glove compartment.  Sometimes even when I am not entertaining as a clown, I will put my clown nose on and drive around just to give other drivers a relaxing laugh.

     My car is actually like a mobile office for my entertainment business.  So look for my little white Taurus with the “Tie Dye Balloon Guy” on the front license plate.  And if I am wearing my clown nose make sure you smile extra big.