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“I love that princess!,” 5-year-old Kayla Hansen of Cuero shouted.
“And the frog!,” her 4-year-old brother, Kaleb, added.
Next to the princess, Kaleb looked up to notice the red and white dragon three times his size. After figuring the dragon could eat him, Kaleb moved on to different worlds.
Mom Rachel Hansen brought her kids to the Victoria Mall on Thursday because she knew they loved balloons.
“It’s neat,” Hansen said. “It definitely took a lot of work,” she added, looking at the thousands of balloons tied and twisted together.
More than 8,000 balloons made up the different sections or worlds, event coordinator Christine Swanson said. Last year’s Balloons Over Texas used about 5,000 balloons and raised $1,600 for the Children’s Discovery Museum on Main Street.
Swanson, owner of Balloon Banquet and Crossroads Clowns and Entertainment Co., hopes to raise even more money for the show’s second year.
Local businesses sponsored the different sections, which helped pay for supplies and all the admission sales go to the museum, she said.
Swanson’s fascination for balloons started when she became a clown 10 years ago and learned at an Austin conference how to decorate with balloons.
“A lot of people say, ‘Anything you can draw, you can probably make out of balloons,’” she said. “In its own sense, it is an art form.”
Swanson and junior balloonists blew up thousands of balloons with air – not helium – Monday through Thursday to create the bulk of the sculptures. Professional twisters – balloonists who use the long, skinny balloons –came from all across Texas to help Swanson with the more intricate designs on Monday.
Balloonists who used the round balloons are called decorators. Swanson is both and calls herself a deco-twister.
In the mall, she shows children the photo area to take photos on a balloon motorcycle or in a balloon princess dress. She chose to benefit the children’s museum with her creations because it provides a safe place for kids to have fun while learning.
Kayla and Kaleb visit the museum for play dates or when they’re bored.
Kayla glues beads in the craft center while her brother dresses in animal and historic costumes and play-acts for his friends.
The couple of dollars they spent to see balloon places like Candyland and Hallow’s Eve returns to benefit them and other children at the museum.
Tara Bozick is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6504 or tbozick@vicad.com.