How To Plan A Bubble Festival

So you want to plan a bubble festival. You may be eligible for a grant by the local municipality. This is a partial list for those planning group bubbling events. 

Bubble Event Location

Locate a spot that will allow plenty of parking and space for bubblers without bumping into each other.

Consider climate, weather, elevation, ground materials, overhead obstacles like tree limbs, local construction, private homes, commercial buildings and electric lines and such. Open space is the best space.

Insurance Policy and Permits

Get them well in advance

Sales License and Permit

If you're selling anything you'll need this.

Grant Use

If the grant policy permits use part of the grant funds for insurance, licenses and permits. For more information regarding grants for bubble festivals go to Google.com

Bubble Juice

I use non-allergenic ingredients and steam distilled water.

May I suggest that you make your bubble juice well in advance. Juice can hold up for weeks, some say months depending on the ingredients. I make my juice within 7 days before the event. Test it two days after juicing and the day before the event.  

Setup

Regarding setup, Mike Millers giant bubble party videos are very helpful...  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=giant+bubble+party

Marketing

Your target audience is kids. Parents are a plus and seniors love bubbles too. That said focus on parties, daycare centers, nursing homes, other festival venues, science centers and such.

Marketing Material

Send out materials such as flyers, email and web based invitations across social networks well in advance. Make a press release and post in community papers and mags.Send out bi-weekly countdown notices via website and social networks.. 

Event Management

Assign someone to oversee safety, quality control and accident prevention

Assign someone to an information table

Assign someone to a welcome table

Assign someone to do bubbling demonstrations

Assign someone to games and activities

Be very inclusive, welcoming and give plenty of commendation.

Games and Record Breaker Activities

Consider games that don't require a lot of running as juice gets very slippery on the ground.

Feature bubble size and number of bubbles record breakers

Demonstrations

Demonstrate how to hold the wand and make bubbles. The best way to demonstrate is to do some bubbling yourself using a variety of wands. 

Entertainment

Background music is nice but keep it light, and be discreet regarding titles.

Media

Make sure you have someone take quality pictures and video of the event. Be prepared to provide a brief interview with the local news and radio stations.

For more info regarding getting started you'll find some helpful info on the soap bubble wiki at http://soapbubble.wikia.com/wiki/Getting_Started

Supplies and Materials

Supplies vary depending on the details of your performance, activities, presentations, theme, etc.
If you're looking for a great place to purchase supplies go to the Bubble Show Store.

Crafting Bubbles Wands

As one who seeks to hone the art of bubble blowing I'm always on the lookout for new and fresh techniques as well as understanding the science of bubble blowing. That said much has to do with knowing how to wield the wand.

Bubble wands come in many shapes and sized. And when it comes to the materials one can use the sky's the limit. I have two preferences. Plastic wands wrapped with cotton fiber twine.

Don't skimp on using quality material. The better it's quality the better the performance when blowing bubbles. Synthetics are yield less than mediocre results.  Natural fibers are outstanding.

Of late my favorite wands are my handmade hoop wand wrapped in cotton fiber yarn. It absorbs the juice and maintain a bubble film long enough to produce several bubbles with one dip.

Having said that, when crafting a bubble wand I suggest you focus on a wand made of plastic rather than one made of wire as wire will effectually rust or corrode and this can contaminate your bubble juice rendering it ineffective for bubbling.



Another factor to consider is the quality of plastic wands. You want plastic that is not too hard nor too thin. It should have some degree of flexibility and softness and thereby able to withstand impact without cracking or breaking.

I also favor a tri-ring or three-ring wand that produces amazing long tube shaped reptilian-like bubbles. In additional it produces a strong film and colorful surface. The number of tubes create
a more sustainable bubble mass with a longer life than single tube bubbles.




Lastly you need the hoop of the wand to connect to a stick. I find that t shaped silicon pvc pipe connectors do the job well. You can use a variety of materials for the stem. Garden poles, hula hoop tubing or water gun inner tubing.

View the performance of my handcrafted tri-ring bubble wand.

 Happy bubble blowing!

 - Angelo

How To Make Bubble Juice

Nothing is more fun than making bubbles in the back yard. The question is how do you make bubble juice to product large bubbles. There are two recipes that work well. Both are indoor/outdoor recipes. But they are also seasonal recipes.

Winter Bubble Juice Recipe

1/8 cup of Joy or Dawn
1/2 cup of corn syrup
1 Gallon of distilled water

Spring/Summer Bubble Juice Recipe

1/8 cup of Joy
1 tablespoon of glycerin
1 Gallon of distilled water


You will be able to produce both small silver dollar bubbles and large baseball size bubbles.

Weather

The more sunny and humid the better. Your bubbles will look stunning in the sun and last longer.

Bubble Wands

There are many shapes and sizes. A quick and easy bubble wand can be made using a vinyl coated hanger or pipe cleaner. Just cut it 8 inches long, shape the end into a closed circle with a 5 inch stem like the number 9. Dip it in the juice and blow amazing bubbles.

Looking for some bubbling inspiration? Check out this bubble show video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKXIxbfUjS8

We'll discuss other bubble recipes and fun ways to create fantastic bubbles formations in our next series of articles. Until then.... Enjoy!