Colourful festival of balloon hats

You have seen balloons of many different shapes, sizes and colours. They are a regular feature at parties, carnivals, fun fairs or any other fun event. But have you heard of festivals dedicated entirely to balloons?

Yes, that's right. One such festival is the Balloon Hat Festival of Singapore. Balloon hats? Now, this may be something you have never seen or heard of before, but balloon hats are what this colourful festival is all about.

The Sentosa Balloon Hat Festival, as it's known, was held for the third time this year on June 3 and 4 in Singapore's Sentosa Island. Over 3,000 students from more than 43 schools in the country took part in the event, a huge increase over the 1,039 participants of last year.

The school bands with the children wearing multi-coloured hats made of balloons, entertained the large crowds present, they themselves wearing balloon hats, at three points along the beach. The fun peaked towards the evening with all band members gathering to form the Balloon Hat Floats Parade. Later, bands displayed their synchronised marching skills, while demonstrations of balloon-twisting were also given.

Many awards were presented at the end of the show including for the best balloon hat, best band, best choreography and best costume design. The large audience wasn't forgotten either; there were prizes for those who correctly guessed the winning bands, best balloon hats etc. The fun event was for a good cause, with the proceeds going to a school for youth with special needs.

The Sentosa Balloon Hat Festival had set up and broken the Guinness Record for the largest gathering of balloon hats. The organisers plan to expand the festival to a Balloon Hat Day when everyone on the island will be expected to wear a balloon hat.

Balloon-twisting or making balloon hats is a widely practised activity in Singapore, with many workshops being organised to teach the craft. Hat designs include helmets, fish, dogs, unicorns, butterflies, doggie-tails, roses, tulips and even parrots in a cage. Creativity is the key, and the sky is the limit for designs.

Although balloon-twisting sounds simple with the only requirements being balloons and a pump, skill is also needed to achieve the complicated shapes. One should know just how much of the balloon to pump, how much of each section should be twisted, etc. And sometimes, just when one thought one had completed the last twist of the design, the balloon would burst. Sand, plants, sharp blades of glass and earrings could pierce balloons.

So, of you are thinking of taking up the craft of balloon-twisting, remember that you have to be very patient and careful with the balloons. Some day, we may have our own colourful balloon festival. Now, won't that be a sight?