Giant latex balloon helps Johnson stand out at Winter Fair

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This article was published 27/03/2018 (2778 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you want a Winter Fair event with some pop to it, James Johnson has just the idea.

Using a latex balloon that can expand six feet, the professional entertainer can fit himself, another adult and two children inside.

It’s a schtick the B.C.-based entertainer says is unlike anybody else’s.

“I’m the only guy that does this type of show where I grab members of the audience to come inside the balloon with me,” said Johnson, who brought his Magical Daredevil Comedy Show to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair for the first time this year.

He enjoys bringing his performance to a new city, which elicits fresh reactions from audiences who haven’t seen anything like it.

“It’s exciting, because they don’t understand or they don’t believe that it can be done,” Johnson said. “I see it on their faces when I say we’re going to cram as many people inside of a giant balloon … it’s hard to imagine.”

Johnson started performing as a clown in 1999.

Well versed in making balloon animals, he stumbled upon a giant balloon for sale a few years later and became inspired.

He knew of one entertainer in New York whose gag involved crawling into balloons.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking to do it at first,” Johnson said, “I did it in my living room with a vacuum.”

He was content with just integrating that unique element into his show, using a leaf blower to ensure it remains inflated, but the children in his audience wanted more.

“Then the kids started screaming,” Johnson said.

“They wanted to climb inside.”

Hesitant at first, he practised bringing others inside the balloon and now it’s become the signature part of his show. He also incorporates other elements before the main event, like escaping a straitjacket or making a bottle disappear.

The entertainer said there’s no trick to squeezing people into a giant balloon.

“Latex stretches,” he said.

Still, the feat surprises audiences, who watch in awe as the balloon expands.

By bringing people on stage, his interactive show involves an element of unpredictability.

“Some of the younger kids cry and adults are just in disbelief, sometimes they actually change their mind and go back to their seats,” Johnson explained, referring to those folks as the “smart people,” he said with a chuckle.

“Most people are keen enough to give it a go, because it’s like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Take seven-year-old Rhyse Richard of Elie, a rambunctious child who leapt into the balloon without fear.

It was fun, he happily explained. “You were in this giant balloon and you could climb in it and it was supersized.

Visit royalmanitobawinterfair.com for a daily schedule of Johnson’s act, which he performs several times daily at the Keystone Centre Amphitheatre.

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