So a friend of the families little girl is turning 7, I took this as a great opportunity to test out my act . However her birthday is being held in the resturant of a bowling alley. So my question is what are somthings I can do with the business of the facility to keep the kids attention? Also I will have very litte room to work with where should I proform my act? Is it a good idea to entertain while they eat dinner?There will be other people besides the b-day party in the room as well, when it comes balloon time i don't mind making them balloons but how do I keep the crowd if any controlled?
:birthday:

Wobbles

Do you have enough together to perform a small show or are you thinking just balloons? Any time the kids are eating when you are performing the food wins. Someone is always getting up for another slice of pizza or another drink. It is easier to keep their attention either before or after, preferably before (that way they are not sticky and messy if you need volunteers.) At the start of the party I would identify the children actually with the party with either a sticker, a hand stamp or some other method. That way when you are making balloons the birthday party gets their balloons first and you know who is who. By the way, how are your balloons coming along?

I have enough stuff together to do a reather small show . It sould last about 15 - 20 min or so, witch isn't too bad ..... after all i am beginning and have volunteered for free. I am hoping to one day have a full show of about 30 - 45 mins but am hoping that this rather smaller gig/ show will give me some idea as to how children respond to what i have got together soo far.
Thats a great idea as to start with the show before the food. i guess i never saw it a possible distraction. Along with the stickers this like you said will have them be able to have there balloons first and no one will get left out.
My balloons are coming along greatly. i feel confident in them. I am still having troubles with my 5 bubble pop series but am planning to aviod this if at all possible by making big hits like flowers , and hats or suggesting somthing different. From what i have seen and heard people tend to fallow trends. So i am hoping to get the flowers and hats out earlyer on to attract people to the idea that they would like a flower or hat . So i am hoping that this works but i guess you never really no till you get there!

Thanks Again

Wobbles

I use to do magic in a bowling alley on a regular basis. Quite often the building layout makes it difficult to seperate party-goer from bowling alley patron, however this gives you an opportunity to market yourself for free.

Have some business cards with you for sure. Are you a magician/clown? I've found that TT stuff is great, as well as Sponges, some of the newer alleys with neon lights lend themselves to some improv D'Lite magic as well.

Here (http://www.balloonhq.com/column/mphilo/jun07/) is a bowling ball & pins balloon hat design.

Good luck at your first gig, and remember the worst thing that could happen is you make a complete fool of yourself. That's a good thing for a clown. If the crowd of kids start closing in on you announce that you will need everyone to take three steps backwards. Or you can have the kids line up single file. They know about lining up from nursery school on up.

One suggestion about the hats is to have a number of different styles in mind ahead of time. I don't mean 20 different really fancy hats, little things that can change your basic hat and make it seem different to the kids. For example: with the basic helmet type hat, take a second balloon and almost fully inflate. On one hat find the middle and attach at the front of the hat and attach the two ends to the back of the hat. On the next hat find the middle of the second balloon and attach it to the middle of the center bubble and bring one end down on each side and attach in the middle of the sides to make it look like a crown. On the third hat take the second balloon and attach in the middle of the center bubble then twist it around itself a few times and twist the ends together so that it looks like a weather vane on top the kids head. This makes the hats look different to the kids but it is still easy and fast for you.