Balloons in June: Artistry brightens Peters Township Community Day
April Murphy observes a demonstration of the fidget spinner that Rebecca Kanar created for her in this file photo from the 2017 Peters Township Community Day.
Rebecca Kanar works on creating a fidget spinner.
Josh Tynes, 4, shows off his balloon penguin.
Anelica Kaiser, 5, waits for her balloon princess.
Clara Worgul, 4, displays fascination with Rebecca Kanar’s work. Her brother, one-and-a-half-year-old Luke, doesn’t seem to be so sure.
Sidney Greene, 9, showss off her unicorn.
Luke Worgul, 1 1/2, plays with his balloon fish, to the amusement of his mother, Kristen.
Rebecca Kanar addes detail to a panda.
Rebecca Kanar has filled many requests for her fidget spinner since designing it just recently.
As soon as she found a suitably level spot to set up shop during Peters Township Community Day, Rebecca Kanar had a lengthy line forming in front of her.
“This was our first stop, to see her,” Lisa Tynes said Saturday afternoon in a sunny Peterswood Park as she and her 4-year-old son, Josh, waited patiently for their turn.
They watched as Kanar launched into action, filling sausage-shaped balloons full of air and then twisting, cutting and shaping them into an array of colorful creations: pandas, pretty princesses and, of course, Pittsburgh-type penguins.
And then there were the fidget spinners.
“I came up with this a couple of days ago, and I’ve been making a million of these ever since,” the Whitehall resident said about her unique variation on the recently ubiquitous kids’ playthings.
Basing her creation on the design of a toy airplane propeller that spins after you wind it, Kanar gave demonstrations on how it works each time she made a new one.
“What you do is, you hold onto these bubbles,” she’d say about small balloons set in the middle, “and you just keep spinning to wind it up.
“When you get it so far, these bubbles will sit on there like that,” she’d explain about the tightly wound apparatus abutting the body. “And then when you’re ready to spin it, you pull ’em out.”
Youngsters – adults, too – watched in fascination as, indeed, the inflated fidgets went on a rapid series of rotations.
Her inventiveness has earned Kanar accolades not only through the Pittsburgh region, where she’s a much sought-after entertainer through her ABC Balloon Twisting, but nationally. She’s won many awards for her works of art, which include the likes of sculptures depicting the likes of a balloon bride and groom, life-sized pooches on leashes and ex-Steeler Troy Polamalu in full uniform.
Kanar’s Community Day creations weren’t quite as intricate, given the small window of time she had to fulfill festivalgoers’ requests. She rose to the challenge, weaving everything together with equal parts ease and speed. And if a balloon might pop during the proceedings, no one really noticed, as she immediately would fill another one with air and go right back to town.
She was well-equipped, too, with dozens of bags strapped onto her compact, circular work station, each holding 100 balloons when she got started.
“No running out of balloons, right?” she said, before admitting: “It happened my very first balloon job. I did a festival for kids, and I was dressed like a clown. I had a mile-line long and one bag of balloons, like 144. I figured that would be plenty. I went through all the balloons, and I had an angry line of parents.
“Ever since then, I’ve had enough balloons.”
She also will admit that her fingers get a bit sore after a while, but a couple of hours on Saturday was a walk in Peterswood Park compared with her recent experience preparing for Pittsburgh’s PrideFest.
“I started in the afternoon, and I didn’t get done ’til around 5 in the morning. I twisted nonstop,” she said, eventually emerging with some 3,000 balloons.
Kanar has become a favorite of Peters Township Community Day, and she’s a much sought-after entertainer who truly enjoys displaying her talents for the delight of others. That includes young Josh Tynes with his white, black and gold penguin.
“I like to make people smile,” she said, flashing a wide smile of her own. “That’s my goal in life.”
Visit www.abcballoontwisting.net.