So… who is this Looney Ballooney I keep hearing about?
Hi, I’m Looney Ballooney (or you can call me Rachel if you like), nice to meet you! I have been entertaining children with magic and balloons for many years now. I used to be a Nursery Nurse as I’ve always loved kids and, even though performing takes up most of my time, I still like to help out in nurseries sometimes. I just love the fun of being around children.
OK… what about Amazing Balloons, who are they?
Sometimes I am asked to just make balloons for some events and fun days. Sometimes my husband, Jason, helps me. So rather than being Looney Ballooney and Jay or Looney Ballooney and Mr Ballooney, or Looney Ballooney and that other guy whose name I just cannot remember… we went under the collective name of Amazing Balloons. Why Amazing Balloons? This was the first thing that most people said when they saw our creations… have a look at My Pictures and see for yourself!
So… how did you get into this magic thingy then?
Well… as I’ve said, I’ve been a Nursery Nurse since I left school. In 1996 I met a magician called Jason, we fell in love (awwwww) and have been together even since. Once we were watching a kid’s magician and we could tell he wasn’t comfortable around the kids and I thought to myself “would I be happy hiring this guy for my kid’s party?”
Then I had my Eureka moment! I love kids… I love magic… I love chocolate… so after sitting down with a nice bar of chocolate I decided it was time to join two of my loves together and started putting together the best show that I could.
Where are you?
I am based in Manchester, just near Manchester Airport, but I can do shows anywhere in the North West or the whole UK if needed. I regularly do children’s parties around Manchester, Bury, Warrington, Stockport, Altrincham but have also performed out in Wales, Yorkshire, Blackpool, Liverpool and so on. I have a set price for shows near to me, but, unlike some other children’s entertainers, charge fairly if you are further than 20 miles from me.
I hate clowns, though – they scare me
Surprisingly, I hear this a lot (Stephen King has a lot to answer for, I reckon). Don’t worry though, even though I do dress colourfully when performing a Magic Show, I do not dress with any make up, false nose or wig. Personally, I think that children like to see the face of the person entertaining them and not have it hidden behind make-up. I also love it when I am out and about and hear “Mummy, that’s Looney Ballooney!”
So.. you any good then?
Yes!
I also wanted a bouncy castle at the party, do you provide them?
No we don’t but my friends at Castle Empire have the best bouncy castles around and are really reliable. I highly recommend them – have a look at their website here and let them know I sent you!
What I don’t do
Embarass the kids – I love the kids to join in, but I am not going to embarass or make fun of them. Anyone who gets up to help me will have as much fun as those watching.
Milking – no… am not bringing a cow on – milking is a magic term where you mess about as much as you can with the kids so you do as little work as possible. My show is packed full of magic effects with still enough fun to keep everyone entertained.
Let you down – I will be there ready to start on time and promise you a fun show that everyone will enjoy.
What I do do
I work hard and constantly push myself to make sure that my show is amazing, fresh and fun.
Have fun myself – I love performing and having fun with everyone watching my show. I don’t see Entertaining as a job (although it does have to pay the bills) but as something that I want to do.
My child has special needs, will they enjoy the show?
I specialise in shows for children with special needs. I have found that using magic and puppets can sometimes connect with the children in a powerful way and bring the children out of themselves – sometimes even getting a child who never speaks to sing along with my puppet Dino (check out the comments in the video below, I surprised these Centre staff when it happened at their show). I have performed for the West Pennine Down Syndrome group and Surestart Special Needs Creches (Aiming High) to great success. Have a look at a few comments from the Centre staff –
Have a question that I haven’t answered above?
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