Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Blog

Two years ago, when I was finally ready to go from doing volunteer events to paid events, I knew I wanted to have liability insurance. It seemed like most of my friends had their insurance through the World Clown Association. They offer insurance as an additional option when paying the annual membership dues. It seemed like the easiest option. Although, the insurance is offered by the World Clown Association, I know a lot of non-clowns who do either balloons or face painting who join just for their insurance.

World Clown Membership and Insurance

If you get your insurance through the World Clown Association, their policy year ends on April 30th, 2012. It is time to renew your membership and pay for another year of insurance.

New Members – $40
Membership Renewal – $35
Liability Insurance – $139

They do offer Additional Insurance for a client who requests being added to your policy.

From their website:

Coverage: This is a Comprehensive General Liability Policy provided by an A-rated insurance company with coverage of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate per event.

Deductible: None The price remains the same regardless of number of months covered (The fee is NOT prorated) and includes Premium, Brokerage fee and Association handling fee.

Policy Exclusions: This program is designed for Clowns and Magicians.

The following types of performances are NOT ACCEPTABLE.

1. Hypnosis
2. Hot Air Balloon Events, Circuses (production), overnight camping Tractor pulls, Rodeo and roping events, motorized events, Mechanical amusement devices, inflatables, rock climb,Bounce Houses, laser tag, sky diving, competition racing.
3. Pyrotechnics, Explosives, Fireworks or similar materials except “concussion effects, “flashpots”, and “smokepots” (Flashboxes covered up to $5,000)
4. Production Management or Promotions Management for hire
5. Animals except performing dogs, doves and rabbits
6. Musicians and Disc Jockeys, except clowns/magicians who engage in these activities as part of their act
7. Copyright infringement exclusion (i.e. Barney, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny)
8. Throwing objects (juggling is acceptable)

Be sure to evaluate your insurance needs and pick the coverage that is right for you. If you hire employees or have special requirements, you may want to get a different policy. Other companies that offer insurance include:

Specialty Insurance Agency
http://www.specialtyinsuranceagency.com/

K&K Insurance Group
http://www.kandkinsurance.com/Entertainment/Pages/Entertainers-Performers.aspx

Cossio Insurance Agency
http://entertainerinsurance.com/

I like to dress like an entertainer. That probably means something different to everyone. I know some entertainers like to “dress up” and look formal with a suit and tie. Others like to wear colorful outfits. I definitely like to be colorful when I am at a casual event, and that includes my shoes. Several shoe companies let their customers design custom shoes. Some are just picking the team colors and others are creating a totally unique looking shoe.

I have several shoes from Converse. I initially decided to go with Converse because they seemed to have more options available. They have a variety of solid colors and prints available. The shoes really don’t cost more than regular shoes. Prices range from about $40-80 per pair plus shipping. A few times each year, the shoes go on sale.

The World Balloon Convention (WBC) 2012 Early-bird Deadline is February 17!

If you haven’t already registered to attend the World Balloon Convention 2012, you still have time to beat the Early-bird Deadline and SAVE! Register now at WorldBalloonConvention.com.

Register Early and Pay Less:
Early-bird: Ends February 17, 2012: $695 per person
Regular: February 18 – March 25, 2012: $795 per person

Plus, if you’re a Qualatex Balloon Network Member, you’ll automatically receive an additional $50 off your registration. If you’re a Certified Balloon Artist, you’ll automatically receive an additional $50 off your registration. (That’s a total of $100 off for CBAs.)

Don’t forget that hotel accommodations must be booked separately from your WBC registration. Reserve your room at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel by February 16 to receive the discounted WBC hotel rate ($112 plus hotel tax per night).

A large group of about 100 – 150 balloon artists at the 2011 Twist and Shout in Boston met up in the Burlington Mall food court food court for a 3 twist dog balloon flash mob.

Sometimes, I wish that I could attend all of the conventions. Last month was the Florida SuperJam, a balloon jam in Florida. The description sounded great, but I found out too late to fit it in my schedule. Their website described it as the ultimate balloon jam!!! 4 days of continuous balloon twisting.

Florida SuperJam
January 11 – 14, 2012
International Palms Resort
6515 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
http://floridasuperjam.com/

Now, I can see some of the fun I missed with some videos of the convention posted on YouTube.

Team Building

Performing on Stage

Waiting for Ice Cream

Nancy Dalton’s balloon creation

Happy 2012!

Each month, I host a face painting and balloon jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Chantilly. It is normally on the 2nd Monday of the month, and in January, our first Jam of the year will be on Monday, January 9th at 7:00pm.

You can come as early or late as you like. We are able to accept tips from the guests. The jam is open to face painters and balloon twisters of all skill levels. Bring your supplies. The jams are an opportunity to socialize with other face painters and balloon twisters, share ideas, and practice interacting with the customers at Cici’s.

Chantilly Face Painting and Balloon Jam
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Eat 6:00 – 7:00
Jam from 7:00 – Close

CiCi’s Pizza Buffet
14392 Chantilly Crossing Lane
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-961-9100

If you can’t make this jam, there are several other jams in the area. Princess Jennifer hosts a jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Falls Church on the 1st Monday of each month. Ivonne and Leandra host a jam at the Fuddruckers
in Annandale on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. You can find these jams and others on Facebook.

Merry Christmas from Mike Becvar aka Balloons By Mike and Sir Toony Van Dukes the host and moderator of the Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Blog.

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of 2011. This has been a good year for me. I am very thankful for my friends who have helped me along the way. I host a monthly face painting and balloon twisting jam which has proven to be a great way to both get time to practice and share ideas with others.

I am making a new years resolution to put more time into writing content for this blog. Hopefully, you will enjoy the posts to come in the new year.

It is a fact I quickly learned when doing balloons outside in the summer. A balloon left in the sun will eventually pop. While there are probably multiple things that lead the balloon to pop, I think a big issue is the increase in volume of the air trapped inside the balloon as it heats up in the sunlight. Eventually, it will expand enough to pop the balloon.

You don’t need to have a complete understanding of Thermodynamics to understand that there is a relationship between temperature, pressure, and volume of a gas. When you trap a fixed amount of air inside a container then heat the air one of two things will happen. If the container is solid, like a glass jar, the pressure inside the container will increase. If the container is able to expand like a balloon, the volume of the air will increase. The opposite is also true. If you cool the air, the pressure will decrease or the volume will decrease.

Last winter, I made myself a balloon hat while working at a local restaurant. When I left, I decided to walk to a store on the opposite side of the parking lot before heading home. It was a cold night and before I made it to the store, I noticed my hat was becoming limp and suspected that one of the balloons had popped. I took the balloon hat off and noticed it was much smaller, but within a minute of walking into the warm store, the balloon hat returned to its former size. What had happened? I had made the balloon inside a warm building and then took it outside where the temperature was freezing cold. The air inside the balloons cooled off and caused the volume of air to decrease making the balloons shrink. Once I returned to a warmer location, the air inside the balloons was able to expand and inflate the balloons to their normal volume.

While it is an interesting effect, it is important to realize the impact that temperature will have on balloons. When doing balloons outside on a cool day, it is important to realize that if the kids take the balloons inside a warmer building that the air inside the balloons will expand and increase the chance of the balloon popping. If making balloons inside when it is cold outside, it is equally important to realize that the balloon will deflate a bit when the kids go outside.

Each month, I host a face painting and balloon jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Chantilly, VA. It is normally on the 2nd Monday of the month, and in
December 2011, the official jam will be on Monday, December 12th. This month, we will share ideas on designs for the upcoming holidays.

Note: The theme is more a conversation starter for the dinner period of the jam. It is not a lecture but an open opportunity to ask questions of the group or share what has worked in the past. come with your questions and ideas… Bring your ideas and an open mind for the discussion.

Arrive when you can… I will try to arrive around 6:00 and plan to eat first. The jam continues until Cici’s closes at 9:00pm. You can come as early or late as you like. We are able to accept tips from the guests.

The jam is open to face painters and balloon twisters of all skill levels. Bring your supplies.

Chantilly Face Painting and Balloon Jam
Monday, December 12th, 2011
Eat 6:00 – 7:00
Jam from 7:00 – Close

CiCi’s Pizza Buffet
14392 Chantilly Crossing Lane
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-961-9100

If you can’t make this jam, there are several other jams in the area. Princess Jennifer hosts a jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Falls Church on the 1st Monday of each month. Ivonne and Leandra host a jam at the Fuddruckers in Annandale on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. You can find these jams and others on Facebook.

From Silly Farm
http://www.sillyfarm.com/store/index.php?p=page&page_id=Paint-A-THon

On December 2, 2011, FabaTV will go LIVE for 12 hours to help raise money and awareness for the Covenant House. FabaTV has teamed up with some of the world’s most talented artists, together they are putting their paints to use for a great cause. The 1st annual Paint-A-Thon will take place on Dec 2nd, 2011 via fabatv.com/page/live, starting at 3:00 pm EST December 2nd and ending at 3:00 am EST Dec 3rd, 2011. They will be broadcasting 12 hours of free, LIVE face and body art classes and you, the viewers, will be given the option to donate money to help they purchase much needed holiday gifts and supplies for the children of the covenant house. 100% of the proceeds will go to the covenant house and the gifts will be delivered by Santa Leon himself.

The Covenant House is a teen homeless shelter, where they focus on helping at-risk, run away, and homeless teens to turn their lives around and rise above their obstacles. The Covenant House works hard to help get teens off the streets, keep them motivated, productive and out of trouble.