Smarty Pants Balloon Blog

Smarty Pants Big Balloon Diner Show Coming to a Library Near You!

2012-01-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

This summer, Smarty Pants will launch a brand new library show in Illinois to fit the state-wide "Reading is Delicious" summer reading theme.

Set in a hilarious balloon diner, the Smarty Pants Big Balloon Diner focuses on the joy of reading, the important of proper nutrition, and of course, the fun of cooking up great food!

Smarty Pants and his wife the Lovely Miss Dena perform in public libraries all over Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin - over 100 shows in 2011 - and we're looking forward to presenting our "delicious" new balloon show in 2012.

I'm already working on a batch of fun new balloons as part of the show.... here's a sneak peek of what you can expect!

For more information about Smarty Pants and our balloon shows suited for libraries, please see our website, www.smartypantsworld.com

P.S. If you want to bring the Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show to your local library - it's easy! Just ask your local "Youth Services" librarian to give us a call or email. Your local librarian wants to bring in programs their patrons want to attend so tell them - YOU WANT SMARTY PANTS IN 2012!

Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show Photo Gallery

2012-01-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

Well, after nearly two hundred performances of the Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show in 2011 at public libraries, elementary schools, park districts, community centers and birthday parties, our year has finally come to an end!

Miss Dena and I were very happy to end our 2011 run of shows with a sold-out performance of the Big Balloon Show at the Fremont Public Library in Mundelein, IL. The library did a great job of promoting our show - we had nearly 200 people packed to see our performance, and the kids had a great time "counting down to 2012" at noon (who can stay up to midnight these days anyway?)

A local photographer took some nice photos of our show - take a peek at our performance :

http://newssun.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/index.html?story=9691464

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena will be back in 2012 with an all new run of library shows in Chicago and the Illinois area. Stay tuned to our calendar on www.SmartyPantsWorld.com for our upcoming performances next year!

End 2011 with a BANG with the Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show!

2011-12-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Smarty Pants and the Lovely Miss Dena will be ending 2011 with a BANG - literally, with our final 2011 performance of the Big Balloon Show coming up on December 30th, 2011 at the Fremont Public Library.

I'm bringing out some of Chicago's biggest balloons for this eye popping balloon stage extravaganza. Prepare for an unforgettable ending to 2011 as we ring in the new year for our kid audiences (and their parents!)

For more information, see our recent writeup in the Lake Forest local edition of the Sun-Times, by our fave local reporter Myrna Petlicki:

http://lakeforest.suntimes.com/entertainment/9480987-421/mundelein-puts-some-pop-in-new-years-eve.html

Smarty Pants, Google Alerts and Holiday Entertainment

2011-12-03T18:15:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite features of Google.com is their "Google Alerts" application. Google Alerts allows you to enter your choice of keywords - in my case, I use "Smarty Pants Balloons" and every week, I receive an email letting me know where my selected keywords have appeared recently on the Google.com search engine.

Last weekend Smarty Pants and Miss Dena kicked off the 2011 holiday season with balloon twisting and face painting at the Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, IL. The event had multiple local photographers and reporters covering the special celebration.

In years past, unless someone clipped the article and put it in the mail to me, I may never have seen the writeups about our work. But thanks to Google Alerts, I've got a great link in my email inbox from the Skokie Patch from last weekend's event.

You can read all about it here!

http://skokie.patch.com/articles/reindeer-land-at-chalet-nursery

Smarty Pants at Chalet Nursery for the Holidays!

2011-11-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

Looking to have a little fun with the kids during the hectic madness of "Black Friday Shopping Weekend"?

Come on down to the Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, IL where Smarty Pants and Miss Dena will be ringing in the 2011 holiday season with Smarty's award-winning holiday themed balloon twisting, Miss Dena's face painting, plus S'mores, hot cocoa and hot cider, all compliments of the fine folks of Chalet Nursery.

We will be entertaining at the Chalet Nursery from 11 am to 3 pm both Saturday November 26th, and Sunday November 27th.

For more information, see the Chalet Nursery website located at www.chaletnursery.com

A Six Foot Balloon Tragedy Averted!

2011-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

Fans of the Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show know that the show ends with an unforgettable finale - Smarty's amazing escape from a massive six foot balloon!

Coming up on Sunday, November 20th, 2011, Smarty Pants is scheduled to present the Big Balloon Show at the Glenview Public Library at 2 pm.

Never one to leave things to the last minute, I checked my balloon inventory to make sure I had all everything I need to perform this Sunday's show:

Lots of 260 twisty balloons - Check.
Sound system and microphones - Check.
Babysitter for Penny Pants? Check.

Uh oh. One thing's missing. Those reputation-making six foot balloons. I'm out!!

Now you can't just stroll down the street and get these six foot giants anywhere. No party store has them. Even most balloon specialty supply companies don't even carry them.

Fortunately I've got a secret source for these balloons - the fine folks at Continental Sales. They've been supplying Smarty Pants with his unique balloons for years. So with only hours to spare, I put in my order and nearly overnight, courtesy of UPS, five giant balloons arrived, ready for tomorrow's show.

So come on down and see the Big Balloon Show at the Glenview Public Library on November 20th, 2011 at 2 pm and reward a hard-working balloon twister for not waiting until the last minute to prep for the show!

Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show - Brand New Photos!

2011-10-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

One of the few disappointing parts about performing live theatre is that when the show's over, it's gone forever. Unlike a television broadcast, an audience at a live performance like the Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show have only their memories to remember the show.

Fortunately, for a select number of shows, I'm able to secure the services of some top notch photographers in the Chicago area. For our recent performance at the Winnetka Community House, photographer Johnny Knight came by to shoot our show. He did a fantastic job capturing all the larger than life balloons of the production in vivid, living color - over 2,000 photos worth!

Want to take a peek at some of the "greatest hits" from these great photos? Click over to the Smarty Pants Facebook Fan Page, where I've recently uploaded a batch of these amazing shots!

And if you missed our last show at the Winnetka Community House, check out our online Smarty Pants calendar - so you can see our next public performance in person and see for yourself why Smarty Pants is Chicago's best balloon artist!

Win Free Tickets to the Big Balloon Show at the Winnetka Community House!

2011-09-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena will be presenting the Big Balloon Show at the Winnetka Community House on September 29th, 2011 at 11 am. Tickets are normally $5 per person and on sale now through EventBrite at the below link:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/799834326/efbevent

Did you know you can win a FREE Ticket to the show? On their Facebook page, Winnetka Community House is holding a contest and giving away five free tickets to the Big Balloon Show.

So how do you enter? Just click over to their Facebook Fan Page and click "I'm attending!" - Winnetka Community House will choose five people at random to win a free ticket. It's easy and free to enter!

Looking to book an educational school assembly? Look no further!

2011-09-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

Is your elementary school looking to book an educational assembly for the 2011-2012 school year? This September 13th, Smarty Pants will be at the Premiere Showcase held in Lombard, IL.

This event features over one-hundred educational assembly performers, on subjects ranging from anti-bullying to storytelling to creative art and even my very own Mousetrap Machine Show, a great science assembly that teaches students how simple machines work.

Smarty Pants presenting at the Premiere Showcase in 2010

Registration is still open and for just a nominal fee, your school's PTA or PTO members can meet & great assembly performers in person and get more information about their shows. It's definitely a lot easier than judging assemblies on merely a school mailing or a website and a lot more fun too!

For more information, see Premiere Showcase's website and Smarty Pants will see you there!

Don't Spit the Water Pilot & Smarty Pants Commercial!

2011-09-01T11:11:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, September 3rd, Chicago's most famous live game show Don't Spit the Water makes the leap to the small screen with the airing of the show's pilot episode on WCIU.

The show airs at midnight and features all the fun & crazy antics of the live performance game show hosted by Sascha and the Noob. Created in the spirit of the "Make Me Laugh" game show, Don’t Spit the Water! is Chicago’s crazy live game show! Contestants vie for the coveted mystery prize by keeping water in their cheeks while our hilarious comedians try to make them laugh.

Chicago's favorite balloon artist Smarty Pants will debut his first ever television commercial during the broadcast - making this a historic day for Chicago in both the balloon twister and game show categories.

Here's the LINK on more information on where the Don't Spit the Water pilot will be broadcast in your area and on your cable network, click the link below:

Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show Library Preview on WGN-TV!

2011-07-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

This past summer, Smarty Pants premiered a brand new edition of The Big Balloon Show at public libraries and park districts all over Illinois. Titled "A Midsummer's Night Balloon," this medieval themed balloon stage show featured a beautiful balloon princess, a valiant balloon knight plucked from the audience, a dangerous balloon dragon and a great finale paying homage to William Tell's famous archery exploits.

Before the show premiered on June 4th at the Palatine Public Library, WGN-TV featured Smarty Pants on their Chicago area morning news program. A regularly featured personality on WGN, Smarty Pants teamed with Ana Belaval and Dean Richards to preview some of the Midsummer's Night Balloon show.

You can catch all the great footage from the day's broadcast on the link below. Keep watching WGN morning news - Smarty Pants will appear again on Friday August 5th, 2011!

Smarty Pants & the Big Balloon Show
on WGN-TV's Morning News!

Smarty Pants at the Winfield Public Library

2011-07-05T09:41:00.001-07:00

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena recently visited the Winfield Public Library in Winfield, IL to perform our newest edition of the Big Balloon Show, titled "A Midsummer's Knight Balloon."

The medieval themed show tied into the 2011 Summer Reading Season theme in Illinois (A Midsummer's Night Read) and I filled the show with lots of thematic balloons including a giant princess, a ferocious dragon and of course, Sir Balloon-a-Lot, played by a brave audience member in every show.

Winfield Public Library was kind enough to post a batch of photos taken during the show. You can see the whole batch on their Flickr Account by clicking the link below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/winfieldpubliclibrary/sets/72157627123163816/

Big Balloon Show Photos at the Crete Public Library

2011-06-21T10:12:00.001-07:00

Since June 4th, Miss Dena and I have been traveling to libraries all over Illinois performing our unique stage production, the Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show. Our library show features magic, comedy and the world's largest balloon props - and libraries are one of our favorite places to perform. We always enjoy seeing sold-out audiences of appreciative fans for our show, especially when visiting new libraries like our recent visit to the Crete Public Library!

The Crete Public Library recently uploaded a batch of photos taken from a recent performance - they got a lot of nice shots of the balloon action! You can see all the photos on the link below. Thanks Crete Library!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14217578@N08/

Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show 2011 Library Season in Full Swing!

2011-06-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

Starting every June, Smarty Pants and Miss Dena perform the Big Balloon Show at over thirty public libraries all over Illinois for library "summer reading season." With kids out of school, public libraries actively encourage young readers to keep up their literacy skills by coming into the library and checking out books. A big part of summer reading season is our show - not only does it give kids & parents a fun, exciting and completely unique stage production, but the Big Balloon Show also emphasizes the power of reading through our show's message.

We recently performed at Glenside Public Library to present our brand new medieval themed production, a Midsummer's Knight Balloon. I'm proud to say we not only enjoyed a sold-out audience for the show, but a very nice writeup recently appeared in a local newspaper.

Check out the link HERE to read the Big Balloon Show raves for yourself!

We've still got plenty more library shows coming up throughout June and July. See our online calendar for details for a Big Balloon Show at a library near you!

Smarty Pants at Red's Garden Center on May 29th, 2011

2011-05-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Have a fun filled, balloon twisting afternoon this Sunday May 29th, 2011 at the Red's Garden Center. Back by popular demand, Smarty Pants and Miss Dena will be doing innovative, creative balloon twisting and face painting from 2 pm to 5 pm at Red's. Join us for this great, free family event!

For more information, see our online calendar at www.smartypantsworld.com or check with Red's Garden Center directly at the contact info below:

Contact: 847-272-1209, reds@redsgardencenter.com

http://www.redsgardencenter.com

Smarty Pants and Daily Candy Chicago

2011-05-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the DailyCandy.com website contacted Smarty Pants about our birthday party packages for kids. For over ten years, I've been providing Chicago area parents with not just a "birthday party" but a "Smarty Pants Party" - uniquely creative balloon entertainment & face painting that goes far and beyond the usual birthday fare.

Today I was pleasantly surprised to see DailyCandy.com named Smarty Pants as the "Best Birthday Party Idea" for kids four years old and up. It was certainly nice to see some online recognition for all the hard work my lovely wife Miss Dena and I do to make every birthday child's special day truly special!

To see the DailyCandy.com post, click here!

The Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show on Library Life TV

2011-04-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Smarty Pants and the Big Balloon Show were recently profiled on Library Life, a locally produced television program focusing on the events at and around the Mount Prospect public library.

Our second appearance on the Library Life program, the January 2011 episode spotlighted the Smarty Pants "Wild About Reading" library stage show that encourages kids to explore their local library's vast variety of stories.

We had a wonderful time working with show host Cathy Cushing and I thought the televised segment did a great job showcasing our show.

Click here to see Smarty Pants & the Big Balloon Show on Library Life TV!

Smarty Pants Kids Night in New Time Out Chicago Kids!

2011-04-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

Frequent readers of this blog know I'm a big fan of Time Out Chicago's kid oriented spinoff, Time Out Chicago Kids. The quarterly magazine does a great job of publicizing all the great family friendly things to do in and around Chicago.

With flipping through the new April/May issue, my lovely wife Miss Dena pointed out that Smarty Pants and the D'Agostino's Family Night were mentioned with a nice little writeup focusing on restaurants that offer entertainment along with kid-friendly eats:

The award winning balloons of Smarty Pants can be seen at this acclaimed Chicago kids night every Tuesday from 5:45 - 7:45 pm at the Wrigleyville D'Agostino's location, and every Thursday from 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm at the Park Ridge D'Ags.

For more information, see www.SmartyPantsWorld.com

Smarty Pants on WGN TV for St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Chicago area, don't miss seeing Smarty Pants on WGN-TV for his annual appearance on WGN's St. Patrick's Day celebration at the Emerald Loop in Chicago, IL.

This is the third year I'll be participating in this televised event - look for Smarty Pants and his amazing St. Patrick's day balloons to be featured about 8 am tomorrow, March 17th, 2011 on WGN-TV's morning news program.

Check out Smarty Pants' past televised appearances on WGN for St. Patrick's Day with the below link!

Smarty Pants on WGN-TV for St. Patrick's Day!

Balloons by Smarty Bar / Bat Mitzvah Balloon Decor

2011-03-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

Miss Dena and I recently attended the ORT Showcase, a party planning expo held annually in Lincolnshire, IL. At our booth, we featured our unique "Balloons by Smarty" balloon centerpieces and large scale sculptures while meeting many parents & kids planning their upcoming bar / bat mitzvahs.

At the ORT showcase, we booked a bat mitzvah in Deerfield, IL with a circus theme - and yesterday Smarty Pants created a few samples to fit this great theme.

Thought you'd all like a peek!

Balloons by Smarty specializes in custom made, creative balloon decor for bar & bat mitzvahs, and every other special event.

You can see many examples of our work at our balloon decor website, www.BalloonsBySmarty.com

The Unpoppables on TLC

2011-01-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

I recently received some very exciting news from Brian Asman, one of my fellow balloon artists based out in San Francisco, CA.

From the producers of the hit show CAKE BOSS comes The Unpoppables, featuring a team of three professional balloon artists challenged to create amazing large scale balloon installations under tight time constraints and lots of pressure!

I'm proud to call all three participants in this new television show my friends and fellow professionals from our collaborations together at Balloon Manor. I'm especially hoping that this new "balloon sculpture" themed show will bring even great visibility and awareness of the creativity & innovation going on the "balloon world" right now.

Smarty Pants at Balloon Manor, a large scale balloon installation

Plus - if the show receives good ratings, they'll renew it for a second season. Who knows? Maybe you'll see a certain Chicago based balloon artist named Smarty Pants on the show then.....

While the show doesn't premiere on TLC until Monday Feb 7th at 8 PM EST, you can see a great sneak peek of the show on TLC's website link.

Smarty Pants Family Night at D'Agostino's in Park Ridge

2011-01-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

In April 2010, the D'Agostino's family launched their fourth location in Park Ridge, IL. I've been entertaining at the Wrigleyville location of D'Agostino's Pizza for the past four years, so it was a natural idea to extend the very successful Smarty Pants Family Night to the new restaurant in Park Ridge.

Since the grand opening back in April, I'm proud to say that we've had a very busy night every Thursday! Over the summer of 2010, I asked my lovely wife Miss Dena to come in and lend her face painting talents to the kids night - with kids out of school, we were getting simply overwhelming crowds, and Miss Dena helped out immensely to make sure everyone went home happy!

Miss Dena has also now become a regular fixture at D'Ags, and you can see us both every Thursday from 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm at the regular Family Night. There's no other family kids night like it anywhere in Chicago!

The Smarty Pants Family Night recently received a rave review from the fine ladies of KidWinks.com - Nina & Jean came in with their own kids to see what all the "hubbub" was about in their own neighborhood.

Click HERE for the link to their review of the Smarty Pants Family Night!

Happy New Year from Smarty Pants!

2010-12-28T13:44:00.000-08:00

Wishing all our valued friends, family, fellow balloon twisters and loyal clients a very happy and healthy New Year for 2011!

Thanks for all your support this past year - including voting Smarty Pants Chicago's Best Entertainer in Nickelodeon's Parents' Picks Awards - we appreciate it!

Smarty Pants Recent Yelp Review

2010-12-06T20:46:00.001-08:00

You know, every once in a while we receive a review from a client that just makes me go "Thank You!"

Here at Smarty Pants World HQ, Miss Dena and I always go above and beyond for our clients. It is our goal to give our valued clients 110% - meeting their expectations isn't enough. We want to exceed them.In this case, one of our recent clients did the same for us by posting this wonderful review on Yelp.com:

"You know the old saying when people talk about their "job" and they feel blessed because they get to do what they love for "work" - this is what Smarty Pants and Miss Dena are all about. Complete dedication and love to entertain and indeed they DO ENTERTAIN!

We turned our son's 6th birthday into a Carnival/Circus party setting up booths with games, prizes, popcorn and more but Smarty Pants and Miss Dena were the hit showcase of the party!!

They arrived early and set up for their show. They were both very friendly, polite, professional and helpful. I have NEVER experienced such TOP NOTCH entertainment!!

I have been to other birthday parties with magicians and entertainment but NEVER have I seen the children laugh as loud and hard for an ENTIRE show.

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena were so wonderful and after the show continued to make balloons and paint faces & hands. The quality of the painting is ART and not your typical face painting. 5 Stars!!

We never felt rushed at any time and it was overall such a pleasurable experience all around. It truly was UNLIMITED fun for all, I was even tempted to ask for my own balloon because I have never seen anything like these. The balloons like the face/hand paint are also a MASTERPIECE of art.

Our son was gifted with a giant balloon clown that had to be 6 feet tall and when I say CLOWN, this clown could be in a book for the coolest looking balloon figure EVER (he is still inflated almost a month later) and he was also presented this during the show, along with an amazing monkey hat that was more than just at hat as he was part of the show. It gets even crazier, the birthday boy hat was at least 2-3 feet tall, multi-colored with lights in it... I could NOT believe the stuff they did for the birthday boy and for the kids in the audience while the show was presented. Everyone was included and the kids were in awe! SO COOL!!!

Now add in all of balloons and fun after the show!! Oh boy, you could sign Smarty Pants up for a fun party for adults as I was truly entertained and amazed as well. I give Smarty Pants and Miss Dena 10 STARS and we will be having them back in the spring for our other son's birthday party as our boys almost every morning since our son's party are asking us if Smarty Pants is coming to their house today? So cute!!! Don't miss out on this experience that will be unforgettable.

Truly at gem for children's parties and a memory that your child will never forget. TOP NOTCH! 10 STARS!!!!"

So that review really made my day and we appreciate it. You can read more of our reviews on our Yelp.com business page here, and perhaps you can leave us a nice review of your own!

Chalet Nursery Family Holiday Celebration

2010-11-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

I've got some exciting news to share for this post-Thanksgiving weekend with just two words:

Live Reindeers!

To kick off the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping season, Smarty Pants is teaming up with Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, Illinois for their Holiday Family Celebration.

Live reindeer arrive from the North Pole this Saturday November 27th, 2010 and Sunday November 28th straight from the North Pole to lovely Wilmette.

Plus holiday balloon twisting by Smarty Pants, holiday face painting by Miss Dena, hot cocoa & cider, cookies and s'mores - it all adds up to the best holiday kickoff celebration this side of the North Pole.

Date & Time: Sat November 27th from 11 am to 3 pm

Sunday November 28th from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm

Chalet Nursery

3132 Lake Avenue Wilmette IL 60091

Just east of the Edens (I-94) at Skokie Road & Lake Avenue

For more info, click to Chalet Nursery's website schedule.

Smarty Pants 1st Annual D'Agostino's Halloween Party Bash

2010-10-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

This Thursday October 28th 2010, award-winning balloon artist Smarty Pants and his lovely wife Miss Dena will be hosting the 1st Annual D'Agostino's Pizza Halloween Bash at the Park Ridge, IL location.

The party starts at 5 pm and goes to 9 pm!

The Halloween Party features Smarty Pants doing Halloween themed balloon twisting, Face Painting with Miss Dena and tons of delicious candy goody-bag giveaways!

Kids are also encouraged to wear their costumes to the restaurant to celebrate the Halloween h0lidays!

D'Agostino's Park Ridge is located at 742 W. Higgins Road in Park Ridge, IL. You can also see full information on this location on the official D'Agostino's website link HERE

See what's brewing this Thursday at D'Agostino's in Park Ridge!

Smarty Pants named Best Party Entertainer in Chicago!

2010-09-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

I have some great news to share - Smarty Pants has been named Chicago's Best Party Entertainer in Nickelodeon's Parents Picks 2010 Awards!

The Nickelodeon Parents' Picks Awards is an annual, nationwide online poll that allows parents to vote on their favorite family friendly places, products and services. The voting took place this past summer in 2010 and I just learned that Smarty Pants has been voted Best Entertainer in the voting!

Thank you to all of our clients, friends, and Smarty Pants fans for voting in the contest. I couldn't have won without your help!

In addition, WGN-TV actually ran televised coverage about my "Vote Smarty" campaign in August, mentioning the voting during their August 24th morning news broadcast here in Chicago. Their coverage starts at about the 1:00 mark in the video below.

I also sent out postcards asking people to vote. Hang onto them - they've become a rare collectible!

Thanks again - I promise in my reign as Best Party Entertainer, I'll make sure to uphold the highest standards of professional entertainment quality, service and creativity!

Smarty Pants on WGN-TV for 2010 Back to School Event!

2010-08-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena were recently featured on WGN-TV for their 2010 annual "Back to School" fest. We had a great time hanging out with Pat Tomasulo and introducing our new "Smarty Pants Brainwave Hats" at the event.

To see the footage of this historic televised event, just click on the link below:

Smarty Pants WGN-TV Back to School 2010

You can see our past appearances on TV on our website at http://www.smartypantsworld.com/SmartyPantsSite/Smarty_on_TV!.html

Smarty Pants Creative Balloon Decor

2010-08-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Did you know that in addition to balloon twisting and our famous "Big Balloon Show" stage production, Smarty Pants also offers high-end, highly creative balloon decor!

The Lovely Miss Dena and I recently worked with a Greek family in Skokie, IL planning a celebration for their son's baptism. We created fourteen fantastic custom-made centerpieces, two large balloon sculptures, four rainbow colored balloon columns (12 feet tall!) plus the grand finale... a giant Athenian Parthenon all made out of balloons!

The event staff from the Doubletree Skokie who were working at other events came into the ballroom just to see these balloons for themselves!

It was a huge amount of work (about three days worth, working non-stop) to create these balloons, but it was all worth it to hear our client say, "My family was completely amazed by your balloons!"

I've posted many more photos online from this balloon decor project on the Smarty Pants Facebook Fan Page. To see the entire photo album, just click the link below!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29990&id=115218618494325&l=6243ada27d

Vote Smarty Pants for Best Party Entertainer in Chicago!

2010-07-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

Every year, Nickelodeon and the ParentsConnect.com website ask parents to vote on their "Kid Favorites" - and Smarty Pants has been nominated as Chicago's Best Party Entertainer!

It's a honor just to be nominated, but I'd love to win!

Would you take a moment or so to vote Smarty? You can vote once a day, every day during the voting that lasts all summer.

To vote, use this link:

http://www.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/chicago-il-usa/best-chicago-party-entertainer

Smarty Pants Family Night in PMQ Magazine

2010-06-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

PMQ (that's Pizza Magazine Quarterly) recently ran a nice feature about the benefits of restaurants having family night promotions with a professional entertainer.

I've been hosting the Tuesday night Family Night at the Wrigleyville D'agostino's Pizza for nearly three years, and the new Thursday night edition at Park Ridge since the location opened four months ago.

These Family Nights have been hugely successful with lots of happy families coming in to the restaurant every week. The nights give parents a break from cooking dinner, plus kids enjoy balloon entertainment compliments of the restaurant plus free ice cream!

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.pmq.com/digital/20100607/46.html

Smarty Pants in Time Out Chicago Kids

2010-05-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Time Out Chicago also publishes a special quarterly edition devoted entirely to kids & family activities in Chicago? Time Out Chicago Kids is a fantastic magazine packed from cover to cover with tons of news, photos and suggestions on what's fun to do for families.

Smarty Pants and the D'Agostino's Family Night was featured in the latest issue! TOC sent out top notch photographer Erica Gannett to capture all the excitement at a recent Tuesday Night Family Night. The magazine ran one of the nice photos in the latest issue:

The magazine is only $2.99 on the newsstand, or you can get 12 issues for the unbelievably low price of just $10. It's a real deal!

https://secure.palmcoastd.com/pcd/eSv?iMagId=21002&i4Ky=IKID

Help Smarty Pants get Nominated for Best Party Entertainer!

2010-05-07T16:14:00.001-07:00

Please (pretty please) nominate us for Best Party Entertainer in Nickelodeon's Parent's Picks Awards!

We need your help to be in the running for a 2010 "Best of Chicago" award. You can nominate us once a day, every day, from now until June 17th. Only five people get on the ballot so we need your vote!

http://www.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/chicago-il-usa/best-chicago-party-entertainer

2010-05-02T18:48:00.001-07:00

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena were recently featured on television as part of WGN-TV's annual St Patrick's Day celebration. We had a lot of on-air fun with Chicago's favorite weatherman, Paul Konrad. Have a peek at the footage - I just finished editing the segment this afternoon (yes, it's May - better late than never!)

You can see the footage here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9MVzGlnw5s

Chicago Balloon Jam Website

2010-04-30T16:05:00.001-07:00

People often ask me, "What's the first step to even start making balloons?" whenever they see me whipping up a dog, hat or Spongebob Squarepants balloon (that last one's not a "first day" kinda balloon sculpture)

I'm glad to say to all those would-be balloon twisters out there - your big opportunity is coming up soon. Ralph Dewey - one of balloon twisting's greatest talents - is swinging into Chicago on June 5th to give a workshop courtesy of the fine folks at MK Brody.

The workshop is split into a "no experience necessary" Balloon Twisting 101 introductory class in the morning, followed by a "little experience necessary" Twisting 202 intermediate class in the afternoon.

If you've ever wanted to start making balloons for fun or profit, this is a great way to learn from one of the very best.

You can find out more information about Ralph Dewey's balloon twisting workshop in Chicago, along with lots more info about balloon twisting in Chicago over at www.ChicagoBalloonJam.com.

I hadn't updated the site in a while, but Dewey's upcoming appearance was certainly motivation for me to get the site up to speed!

Smarty Pants Fan Page

2010-04-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Finally got on board to set up the official Smarty Pants fan page on Facebook. I post a lot of the same updates, photos and news on Facebook as I do here on my blog, but a bit more frequently!

Have a look at: http://www.facebook.com/SmartyPantsFan

D'Agostino's Park Ridge Grand Opening Photos!

2010-04-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

D'Agostino's Pizza recently celebrated the grand opening of their new location in Park Ridge, IL. Scott & Sara D'Agostino threw a big party on April 9th 2010 to invite the community to their newest location. We enjoyed meeting the great members of the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce as Miss Dena & I entertained the restaurant guests!

Two of the guests at the grand opening were Jean & Nina of the amazing family resource website, KidWinks.com - I've been a fan of this site for a long time for providing parents with so much great information of what's going on around the Chicago area for families. It was a real pleasure to meet them and their kids in person!

They even added a very nice review of the D'Ags grand opening on their own website here:

http://www.kidwinks.com/KidsEvents/7/DAgostinosPizzaandPubFamilyNight/9110/

And here's the BIG NEWS:

Every Thursday, Smarty Pants will be entertaining at this new D'Agostino's in Park Ridge for our newest Family Night. It's the most exciting family night in Park Ridge, in Chicago or anywhere else!

Come on by every Thursday from 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm to see Smarty Pants entertaining at this new D'Ags. See http://www.smartypantsworld.com/SmartyPantsSite/Chicago_Family_Night.html for more details!

Smarty Pants Big Balloon Show covered in Pioneer Press

2010-03-12T14:05:00.001-08:00

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena recently performed their Big Balloon Show at the Barrington Park District. Our show was nicely covered by writer Myrna Petlicki in the pages of the Pioneer Press. We appreciated the nice newspaper article!

For more recent Smarty Pants press, please see SmartyPantsWorld.com!

Smarty Pants WGN-TV World Record Attempt!

2010-03-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

Smarty Pants and a team of skilled balloon entertainers recently attempted to set a brand new world record for most people getting into a six foot balloon simultaneously!

This historic event took place at the 2010 Twist and Shout Balloon Artist Convention held in Oakbrook, IL. WGN-TV Morning News cameras were on site all morning, with Ana Belaval reporting live to the entire Chicago metro area.

After Ana Belaval of the WGN Morning News did the countdown, eleven balloon artists attempted to climb into their own six foot balloon. Ten succeeded!

You can see all the great photos from this incredibly historic balloon entertaining event here : http://tinyurl.com/ycz53vn

Smarty Pants at the ORT Bar / Bat Mitzvah Showcase!

2010-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Miss Dena and I recently exhibited at the ORT Party Planning Showcase in Lincolnshire, IL where parents of prospective bar & bat mitzvahs were shopping for their upcoming special events.

A bar mitzvah (or bat mitzvah for girls) is a coming of age ceremony for 13 year olds in the Jewish faith. The religious ceremony held at a synagogue is usually followed by a super fun party with family and friends all celebrating this important life milestone.

Here's some photos from the showcase event - we offer unique balloon centerpieces and large scale decor work for bar / bat mitzvahs in the Illinois and Wisconsin areas!

Smarty Pants Bar / Bat Mitzvah Entertainment in Chicago!

2010-01-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

Nearly twenty years ago, my parents hosted my own bar mitzvah. To be completely honest, I can’t recall much about the food, or the band, or even where it was held (although my mother claims that the chicken was rubbery!)

But there’s one thing that I remember without a doubt - the fantastic magician that entertained the entire party and left us all talking about his amazing work for years to come.

Now that I'm a professional entertainer myself, I'm proud to offer that same level of memorable entertainment for families planning their own bar & bat mitzvahs. From fantastic light-up balloon hats and wearables sculpted at the party itself to striking, eye popping balloon decor, Smarty Pants brings fun and excitement to bar & bat mitzvahs unlike anyone else!

Come see me in person at the upcoming ORT Party Planning Showcase coming up on January 31st, 2010 in the Chicago area. I'll have many of my famous balloon creations on display at my exhibit booth, along with the area's best DJs, florists, photographers, caterers and banquet hall reps. I love the ORT Showcase - it's truly a "one stop" shopping event for every facet of a great party!

D'Agostino's Family Night Holiday Party

2009-12-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

Smarty Pants recently hosted our annual Family Night Holiday Party - lots of kids and kids at heart came out to celebrate the holiday season with Smarty Pants at D'Agostino's Pizza and Pub in Chicago, IL.

Here's some nice photos from the night - and don't forget - you can see Smarty Pants and his unique balloon entertainment every Tuesday at D'Agostino's Wrigleyville location from 6-8 pm!

Happy Holidays from Smarty Pants

2009-12-05T18:28:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays from Smarty Pants! Here's a peek at some holiday themed balloons I've created over the last week in Chicago, IL to celebrate the holidays!

Alien Santa

Christmas Tree Decor Piece for Breakfast with Santa Event.

Cute Little Christmas Elf

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Balloon

Want to see more famous Smarty Pants balloons? Have a peek at our newly revamped website at SmartyPantsWorld.com for tons more photos!

Smarty Pants Teaching at Twist and Shout 2010

2009-11-19T16:09:00.001-08:00

The Best Balloon Twister's Convention is coming to Chicago (Oakbrook to be exact) from Feb 17th - 21th, 2010 - and Smarty Pants will be teaching as an official instructor at this annual event! Twist and Shout is the world's greatest convention for balloon enthusiasts - everyone from novice balloon twisters to the very best talents on the globe will be there!

For more information, see BalloonConvention.com - registration is still available but the event does tend to sell out. Don't delay - if you are interested in balloons, this is THE EVENT to attend!

I'll be teaching two classes for the 2010 edition of Twist and Shout:

Building a Balloon Show

Since developing the Big Balloon Show in 2001, Smarty Pants has taken his balloon show to schools, libraries, community centers and birthday parties all over the Chicago area. Now he’ll teach fellow balloon artists how to build their own balloon show from the ground up – no experience necessary. It’s easier than you think!

This class will feature a complete performance of Smarty’s original show, as he performs it at hundreds of birthday parties, libraries and community centers every year.

After the show, Smarty will cover the following topics:

Structuring your show from start to finish
Different types of ways balloons can be used to entertain
Developing original balloon show routines
Using volunteers to add impact to your show
Selling the balloon show to clients

Your Health and Your Wealth (for the Self-Employed Entertainer)

Unlike a typical “9 to 5” corporate employee, self-employed entertainers must make their own arrangements for their own health care and retirement funding. Our future health and wealth are in our own hands!

In this two-part class, Smarty Pants covers the basics of both obtaining health insurance coverage for the self-employed, as well as setting up a retirement fund to cover our golden years.

This is a “no experience necessary” class designed to explain concepts at the most basic level without the worry, confusion and overly complicated jargon that often plagues investment / insurance seminars. As a self-employed full time entertainer, Smarty Pants has personally researched both of these essential topics, and will pass on his knowledge to fellow balloon artists. And not to worry – this won’t be a dreadfully dull lecture – it’s designed to be humourous and entertaining!

Balloon Twisting in the Wall Street Journal

2009-10-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Balloon Twisting as an industry got a great boost this week as the Wall Street Journal ran an extensive article on the rising success of the full-time balloon twisting professional. Back in the day, most balloon sculpture was associated with birthday party clowns making rather simple dogs and swords, but the art has really taken off over the last decade and people like yours truly have been able to build a full time career with balloons.

My good friend Jonathan Fudge of Tampa, Florida was the lead focus of the article - he's a great representative of the dynamic, creative direction that balloons are going in the 21st century. Check out the article below!

Hyperinflation: Balloon Twisters Stretch the Limits of Latex Art

Smarty Pants in Pizza Magazine Quarterly

2009-08-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

You know you've hit the big time when your balloons are featured in the world's most famous pizza industry magazine, Pizza Monthly Quarterly. Yes, mom would be so proud!

Seriously, about two months ago PMQ traveled from their home base in Oxford, Mississippi to visit D'Agostino's Pizza in Chicago. The owner Scott D'Agostino was kind enough to invite me and Miss Dena to the magazine's visit, since my Tuesday night Family Night has been such a nice success for them over the last 18 months.

PMQ also put together a companion video profile on their Pizza TV YouTube channel. You can have a look at the video here - I show my smiling face at the 2:25 time mark on the video.

It was nice to be recognized in the pages of the magazine for my weekly balloon work - I'm planning on launching a second Family Night in the fall, so perhaps this coverage will help convince another restaurant owner to give the Smarty Pants Family Night a try at their establishment!

Smarty Pants on WGN-TV

2009-08-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena were featured this morning on WGN-TV as back of their annual Back to School Kids Fest. Enjoy the video courtesy of WGN!

To have a look, click on over to WGN's website where they have our segment featured online:

See Smarty on WGN!

Smarty Pants in the Daily Herald

2009-07-21T19:09:00.001-07:00

Miss Dena's mom recently passed along a clipping of us performing at the Lake Villa District Library. The newspaper featured two nice photos from our show, courtesy of photographer Steve Lundy.

Smarty Pants in the Pioneer Press

2009-07-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

We recently got a nice writeup in the pages of the Pioneer Press regarding our performance of the Big Balloon Show at the Park Ridge Public Library for the 2009 Summer Reading Season.

Here's the link:

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/parkridge/entertainment/1609438,entertainment-cook-famfriendly-061109-s1.article

Smarty Pants Summer Reading Schedule

2009-06-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Smarty Pants!

The Lovely Miss Dena and I will be performing an all-new edition of the Big Balloon Show at libraries across Illinois all summer long!

This new show takes audiences on a whirlwind tour of the world's most fantastic balloon animals. From super strong fleas to a life sized shark to the show-stopping volcano eruption finale, this is the summer's must see show! The best part - every show at the library is totally free! Yes, free!

You may have to make advance reservations at your local library Youth Services desk, since these shows will definitely sell out to capacity! To see our complete show schedule, click over to "Where's Smarty Pants" on our regular website, SmartyPantsWorld.com

Smarty Pants at the Berwyn Public Library

2009-06-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Smarty Pants and the Lovely Miss Dena recently performed an all-new edition of the Big Balloon Show at the Berwyn Public Library to kick off our 2009 summer reading season at Illinois area libraries.

You can see a great selection of photos from the show courtesy of Marissa, our friendly Berwyn youth services librarian here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37694935@N00/sets/72157619536609863/

Check out SmartyPantsWorld.com or TheLovelyMissDena.com for updates on where we'll be performing next this summer!

Smash Cake Grand Opening

2009-06-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Smarty Pants and Miss Dena recently entertained at the grand opening of the fantastic bakery SMASH CAKE here in Chicago and received a sweet mention in the Gapersblock e-newspapper.

Click HERE to have a look at what Lori Barrett had to say!

Smarty Pants Octopus Hat

2009-05-14T18:00:00.001-07:00

This is an Octopus hat I've been designing in preparation for our all new Big Balloon Show for libraries in 2009. Thanks to Miss Dena for modelling it this afternoon. For more information on our library show schedule, please see SmartyPantsWorld.com

Happy Easter!

2009-04-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Miss Dena and I recently entertained at the Barn of Barrington for their annual Easter Sunday brunch. Here's a photo of the large-scale Easter Bunny (over four feet tall!) that I created as a lobby sculpture for the brunch patrons to enjoy.

Sadly, during the course of the festivities I learned that the Barn of Barrington is slated to close this summer. Apparently the building needs quite a bit of repairs and renovations (it's over a hundred years old!) and the cost of these repairs is just not feasible to undertake.

We'll be entertaining at the Mother's Day brunch at the Barn from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm coming up on May 10th, so we look forward to seeing old and new friends before this historic venue closes its doors!

For more information, see the Barn of Barrington website at http://www.barnofbarrington.com/

Smarty Pants Balloon Blog

2009-04-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

Smarty Pants is an award-winning balloon artist, and producer of the Big Balloon Show. His innovative work with balloons has been featured multiple times on WGN-TV. He performs all over Chicago with his wife, The Lovely Miss Dena.

Check us out on the web at SmartyPantsWorld.com. You also see lots of clips from our shows, television appearances as well as our hilarious balloon short films at www.youtube.com/smartypantsworld

Miss Dena and I recently shot a new short segment for WCIU-TV, located right here in Chicago. Click the photo above (or here) to see how Smarty twists a balloon in a way never before seen on television. Amazing!