Grand Opening Balloon Entertainment in Chicago
A family attraction that can do more than entertain the kids.
Stores, banks, franchises, and businesses often bring in a balloon artist to give children and families something fun to do during a grand opening, ribbon cutting, reopening, or promotion.
Dale Obrochta provides that family-friendly attraction while also creating visible activity that gives people another reason to notice the business, come closer, and become part of what is happening.
The kids may be the reason you hire the balloon artist. The activity around them can benefit the entire opening.
Request Event InformationExperience With Store Openings & Promotions
Target • Jewel-Osco • A.J. Wright • Cold Stone Creamery • McDonald’s • NBC Chicago
More Than Something for the Kids
Many grand-opening planners begin with a simple question: What can we have for the kids?
Balloon entertainment answers that need immediately. Children see what is happening and want to participate. Parents stop with them. Other customers notice the activity. Finished creations become visible around the event.
What begins as an attraction for children can become part of the activity surrounding the business.
You may be hiring a balloon artist for the families. The business also benefits from the interaction happening around them.
Give People a Reason to Notice Something Is Happening
A grand opening should look different from an ordinary day at the business.
Someone walking or driving past may notice the balloons. A child sees another child carrying a creation. A family comes closer to see what is happening. People gather, react, take pictures, and interact around the location.
The entertainment helps turn the location into the event.
The Balloon Artist Often Becomes Someone Customers Ask for Help
Dale is often one of the most visible people at the opening. Customers see him interacting with families, creating balloons, and clearly being part of what is happening at the location.
They may approach for a balloon and then ask about the store, the event, the promotion, the schedule, where a department or service is located, or something as simple as where to find the restroom.
Dale has been talking with customers and families at live events since 1989. When the business gives him basic information in advance, he can answer straightforward questions and point people in the right direction. If a question requires an official answer about a policy, product, or service, he can direct the customer to the appropriate employee.
The balloon gets people to approach. Dale can answer basic questions, point them in the right direction, and reduce some of the frustration that comes with figuring out an unfamiliar store or event.
A Little Information Before the Event Can Go a Long Way
Dale does not need to become a store employee. But knowing the basics can make him more useful when customers naturally begin asking questions.
Built Around the Business, Not Away From It
The goal is not to create an attraction that has nothing to do with the opening.
Dale can work where the activity supports the event — near the entrance, inside the store, around a promotional area, or wherever the business wants customers gathering and interacting.
Store staff can stay focused on customers, products, services, transactions, and everything else involved in opening or promoting the location while Dale manages the entertainment and the conversations happening around it.
The entertainment should support what is happening at the business — not compete with it.
“Your personality was a perfect fit with our group.”
Everyone loved you, your balloon characters, and the way you interacted with customers at our grand opening. People in the office were still talking about it the next day.
— Vonda Payton, AAA Chicago Motor Club
Grand Openings, Promotions & Business Events
This approach works anywhere a business wants a family-friendly attraction while also creating visible activity and customer interaction around the location.
Experience Working Store Openings & Promotions
Dale has worked grand openings, remodel celebrations, and promotional events connected with businesses including Target, Jewel-Osco, A.J. Wright, Cold Stone Creamery, and McDonald’s.
Since 1989, he has spent decades learning how to talk with customers, families, employees, and guests while adapting to busy environments where the entertainment is only one part of everything happening around him.
See this approach at real business openings and reopenings:
Hickory River Smokehouse Grand Opening Case Study →
McDonald’s Remodel Celebration Case Study →
Planning a Grand Opening, Reopening, or Promotion?
Tell Dale about the business, location, expected audience, promotion, schedule, and what you want the event to accomplish.
He will review the details and look at how the balloon entertainment can serve the families while also supporting the activity happening around the business.
Request Event InformationSubmitting a request does not confirm your event. Availability, timing, and event details will be reviewed personally before confirmation.