World Balloon Convention 2012- Circus Themed Party

On Thursday night we had 'The Very Best Balloon Show On Earth'. The whole event was spectacular. The balloon decor for the room was designed by Tope Abulude from the UK, and what an amazing job he did! At the doorway there was massive clown arches. Upon entry garlands stretched from various sides of the room, resembling a circus marquee, meeting in the middle with a huge, LED lit clown face. There were clown centrepieces on each table, monkies, tigers and exploding balloons. Let's not forget the stage backdrop frame spelling out 'Circus' in brightly coloured balloons. 

Clown arches leading to the doorway. If this is just the entry, then you definitely want to go inside!

The stage backdrop and the dance floor. Animals, clowns & ring leaders everywhere!

Garland with clown face in the centre.

And it doesn't stop at the balloon decorations. The food was exactly the sort you'd find at a carnival or circus. Including popcorn, corn dogs, cotton candy, nachos, corn etc. There was a photo booth with, yes you guessed it, balloon backdrops! And what party is complete without a conga line! This is definitely one of the highlights of the convention for me, it's only ashame that the night had to end!

Some of the best dressed of the night!

Beth from Balloonique Designs & myself striking a pose in the photo booth.

World Balloon Convention 2012- Official Welcoming

The team led by Azusa Ieizumi from Japan, constructed the signature sculpture which was in the entrance to the grand ballroom & competition area. We were watching their progress as we completed our large sculpture for the competition & their techniques & ideas are amazing.

The Internation Reception was held in the Welcome Centre, where we all gathered to introduce ourselves & induldge in some snacks & beverages. Of course, there was some more Aussie chanting & we also brought along some Aussie treats like Minties, Tim Tams & Vegemite for everyone to taste. We were quickly becoming a popular bunch of people!

I think a few people who had snuck off for a quick nap are missing from this photo, but you get the idea. There's me in the front left next to the lovely Lis & Cheryle, both from Melbourne.

Next stop is the Welcome Festivities. This was extremely fun for an event which only lasted one hour. As we entered the room, instructors & staff lined each side of the walkway & waved 260Q balloons at us (these are the long twisting balloons). One of the huge names in balloon twisting & weaving, Robbie Furman, was our MC. He taught us to make a simple heart from the 260Qs we were given & we all wandered off to give it to someone we hadn't met before. A few short speeches by some of the organisers about the events that are planned for the rest of the week & Ted & Betty Vlamis, the big bosses of Qualatex. Then the first ever appearance by Mr Q, the Qualatex mascot! Now we're all motivated & excited for classes & lots of fun!

 
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Walking into the Welcome Festivities with all the 260Q balloons being waved around, so much fun!



Mr Q & Robbie Furman our MC.

World Balloon Convention 2012- Large Sculpture Competition

Another early start with the large sculpture competition kicking off at 9am. The Aussies had entered & had until 12 noon the following day to complete it (that's around 27 hours! Believe me, all the entrants used all the time they were permitted) I'll let the pictures tell the story...



About half way through the competition, still united in our green shirts & sporadic Aussie chanting.

Around 4am, holding up the sunset backdrop to check it all fits in perfectly.

A close up of the sculpture. So many unique techniques involved, I loved how varied it was!

The finished product! What an huge accomplishment! Our first international competition piece as an Australian team. We scored a bronze achievement & most importantly learnt so much from each other about planning, design & various techniques.

Here are some of the other large sculpture entries from various countries, including Russia, Japan & Italy. Some really impressive work, the only word I could say was WOW! Don't forget, there are plenty more photos on the Facebook page for your browsing pleasure!



World Balloon Convention 2012- Hotel Decor Project

We were up bright & early today with plenty to do. The Australian delegates had volunteered to do the decorating for the hotel lobby, welcome room entrance, directional signs & class rooms. By midnight we had just about finished everything & were impressed with the end results.

Me standing in front of the wall we made in the hotel lobby. This is Mr Q, the Qualatex mascot.

Hanging above the wall are the paint pots. Also made by the Aussies!

The paint pots with colours splashing out. These were for each of the classrooms.

Mr Q's for the directional signs throughout the hotel.

We had fantastic green shirts made up so everyone could recognise us as the Aussies. And if that didn't work, we were constantly chanting Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! I think by the end of the week everyone had realised that there were in fact quite a few balloonies from a land down under.  

Here we are fixing the paint pots before they are lifted & rigged to the ceiling. Note the green shirts!

World Balloon Convention 2012

On 18/3/12, I (Claire Geldard, CBA from The Party's Here) left Sydney with some fellow Aussie balloon decorators & twisters & headed for Dallas, Texas in USA. The 15 hour direct flight with Qantas was exhausting but once we got into the taxi to the hotel, the driver lifted our energy levels with some Michael Jackson tunes! We met up with the rest of the Aussies that had already arrived & had a huge dinner at T.G.I Fridays & an early night in preparation for the hectic week to come. Check out The Party's Here facebook page for tonnes more photos from the Convention.

The Aussie balloonies entertaining everyone at Sydney Airport. That's me on the far right.