Smarty Pants was fantastic at our recent event AND each and every time I've seen him perform over…read morethe years - which is many times (because many people see how amazing he is)!! It's not just his talent with super fun and surprising balloon characters but his adaptive nature and outstanding personality, engaging everyone at the parties/events. I would absolutely recommend him for all types of occasions : private or big birthday parties, festivals, block parties, - anywhere there will be children!! He is one less thing at your party you need to worry about because he is a sure thing! Truly, he is a whole family favorite!!

What a fun performer. I came across him at the Park Ridge Kiwanis annual pancake breakfast, where…read morehe was doing some entertaining mostly for the kids but definitely for the adults as well. It's through him that I heard of the Central Street Busker Festival that took place the next day and his line was loooong! Most recently, we went to his show last week that the Mt. Prospect Public Library held for spring break. That was very very well attended, with a long line of folks waiting to get in (and that's with all of us registered to attend!), but the show was a lot of fun. He did a little magic, a little comedy, and some fun balloon tricks. This guy has been doing this all his adult life--unless that's also a joke and part of his act--but regardless, he's great at his job. I'm looking forward to seeing him again and my little one having the chance to pick her balloon creation on her own.

WOW!! Lisa and her friend ccame to our 1 year old's birthday party this past Saturday and exceeded…read moreall expectations. I found Lisa On yelp and she got back to me very quickly and was easy to set everything up. The day of the party she arrived early and got right to work. The kids thought they were magical. She did outstanding designs on everyone there. Either doing arms oR faces depending on preference. I've never seen my 2.5 year old sit still for that long. Everyone raved about the designs. She was willing to do anything asked and they all turned Oort great. The balloons were just as big of a hit and the kids thought it was so neat to have balloon "swords" and animals. I would HIGHLY recommend Lisa for any party!!

This June was my nephews 1st birthday and my sister wanted face painting and balloon making. Who…read morebetter then LISA! She is by far the best face painter I have seen and believe me I have been to A LOT of children's birthday parties in the last few years. Lisa is hands down a perfectionist with free hand face painting, her attention to detail is impressive, and each outcome is on point. I highly recommend Lisa Face Painting and Balloons for your next event. You will not be disappointed.

I'm sure I've hit a world record for character rentals. I know lots of options when it comes to…read morefind Spiderman, Elsa and other princesses. However, this year my kids challenged me with wanting the following characters at their bday parties: one of the My Little Ponies, Pikachu (Pokemon) and Elmo. While I had to go elsewhere to find the pony (probably the most challenging of the requests), Blazing Birthdays was one of the few character rental companies that had both Pikachu and Elmo. I was most impressed with their communication. Their managing director, Scarlett, was super helpful on the phone and followed up with a very detailed email after our initial phone call. After hearing a bit about my parties we decided on 1 1/2 hours for Pikachu (30 min of Pikachu followed by an hour of balloon twisting) for 25ish five year olds. And then 1 hour of Elmo (30 min of Elmo followed by 30 min of balloon twisting) for 25ish two year olds. I received a call from the characters the night before both parties, which is a first in my many years of character rentals. I could tell by their voicemails alone that they were going to great...and I was right. Colman was Pikachu and ran around our party screeching "pika pika"- the kids absolutely loved playing with him. After 30 min of playing pikachu disappeared and Colman appeared ready to twist a lot of balloons, mostly swords for this crowd of 4 and 5 year old boys. He was also really great w/ the kids and had no problem getting their attention. Catherine was Elmo. She ran into some traffic issues so was a few min late to the party, but texted to let me know and was very apologetic so it was no big deal. I was a little afraid of how such little ones (one and two year olds) would react to Elmo, but she was super sweet with them and they loved her. She (or he) gave a bunch of hugs, posed for pictures and even danced around for them while they ate. And then after Elmo helped my son blow out the candles she reappeared for some balloon twisting. Half the crowd disappeared at this point to make it home for nap time, but the ones who stuck around really enjoyed the balloons...especially my 7 yr old who took advantage and probably had 5 balloons made for just herself. There are a lot of options when it comes to character rentals, but Blazing Birthdays is the first one I would call next time. Professional, reliable and priced fairly as well. Thank you Pikachu and Elmo for making my boys birthdays extra special!

We rented out the Elmo Character for my daughters first Birthday. Prices are not listed on the…read morewebsite but if you call the number (I believe her name is Lynn) is almost always available to answer questions and give information. She's very friendly and nice. The open communication is great. They offer a wide variety of services from characters to magicians, clowns, face paint and balloon artists. Elmo was wonderful. He was on time and not in a rush to leave when his hour was up. He was really great with the kids. We played games like limbo and sang interactive songs. Elmo read books to the kids and posed for pictures. The energy level was great and all the guests left happy.

For my son's 5th birthday party, Liga and Melissa did a tremendous job with their magic show. They…read morewere extremely professional, timely, and very responsive via email when I booked them. My son and his classmates (20+ kids) were absolutely delighted with the magic show! I would highly recommend hiring them.

I was looking for face painters and balloon artists for our block party and found Gonzo Group. I…read morewas particularly drawn by Melissa's bio and how she was afraid of clowns when she was younger but nowadays, she performs as a comedy clown. I had a great experience with Liga and Melissa. Great communication, very professional. The kids had a blast with their painted arms/faces and the balloons -- you should have seen the epic balloon sword fights. They were nothing but accommodating and would definitely book them again. Highly recommended!

We hired Around The Town Entertainment for a Santa Meet & Greet in December, and it was truly the…read morebest experience! The booking process was smooth, the pricing was great, and communication was quick, clear, and very friendly. From the moment Santa arrived, he was kind, funny, respectful, and absolutely wonderful with both kids and adults. Everyone had an amazing time, and the joy he brought to our event was unforgettable. We couldn't have asked for a better experience and would highly recommend Around The Town Entertainment to anyone looking to create a magical event. We will definitely be booking again!

I highly recommend Around the Town Entertainment. I've asked around different vendors here at Yelp…read moreand they have the best options, best price and they are also very responsive. They have different magicians/performers and you can choose at different prices and the kind of performance they can do. We have David perform for my 6-yr old son's birthday party and everyone was entertained both adult and children. After the magic performance, he did the balloon twisting and the kids loved it! He went above and beyond for the party. I will totally use them again for any kids party.

We are so glad we booked Marsh Mallo Entertainment for our fundraiser event. Mary could not have…read morebeen easier to work with or more accommodating. She was on time, kind, and even stayed late to ensure we had a great event. I would give 10 stars it if I could, I can't say enough great things.

She is very professional and the kids loved her! It's so much fun to see her with her dancing cane!!read more

BUYER Beware!!! We knew from the beginning that we were not…read moregetting anything close to top notch Entertainment from this guy when we booked him but we at least expected them to be somewhat Entertaining even if they did the little routine on the video they sent would have been just fine and that is not asking much at all! Instead they came in flounced around ... got paid and left. I wish I could have a way to post exactly what they called a show for our event along with this review! Literally my 3 year old could have done what they did. We have never been so embarrassed!!

DO NOT hire this CLOWNS in any circumstances, I repeat, DO NOT hire them…read more I hired them to provide entertainment to our daughter and son's birthday party with specific instruction that I need someone to come and do magic show and games. The day before the event, the owner calls to inform me that the performer that was supposed to come is sick and they have replacement. The replacement may not be able to perform what we have had requested but that's the best they can do on short time. After heated conversation with the owner (which he was very rude over the phone, I still can't believe they are in service providing industry with this kind of attitude), we mutually agreed that it would be best just to cancel the service. Now comes the worst part, I had already put down $75.00 deposit which I was promised that I will get back. No brainer, right? I guess not, after repeated inquires and promises I have yet to receive the deposit back. Now they are not answering my repeated request for return deposit and its been three weeks. If I had time, I would take them to small claim court to get the deposit back but rather I am working with my Credit Card company to recover the deposit. I had hired them to relieve the stress of providing the entertainment to the children at birthday party but ended up causing more stress. Even if they provide the service for FREE, I would suggest not to hire them. You are better off spending that money buying gifts/toys for your guests. Very disappointed.

This is a REPOST, as I was threatened with a law suit if I did not remove my original post, which…read morewas soon after my daughters 5th birthday party. I ordered a Dora character, and she was 45 minutes late, when she arrived, her costume was wrinkled and dirty. The children were not engaged by her, and eventually I had to ask her to switch to her magician costume and carry on with that part of the show. Her cd player did not work, but luckily there was a sound system as the venue. It was a HOTT MESS. Then I received a threatening email. I was sorely disappointed, and felt bullied. I wont be removing this one. ...update...there was no trial

I was inquiring about belly dancers and the representative, Clare Ashley was rude and obnoxious!!!…read moreShe didn't provide freindly customer service and she was very short with me because she wanted to get off the phone! She didn't allow me to ask my questions and the website didn't have clear pictures of the belly dancers. She sent me pictures of the belly dancers but assumed it was for my husband and it wasn't even for my husband!! I would not use this service because my inquiry about the service was a terrible experience! The price of $150.00 wasn't reasonable for 15-20 minutes! I don't recommend anyone using this service and doesn't even deserve 1 Star!

When you want a vendor who makes party planning painless and festive, Chicago Balloon Twister…read moredelivers! From first contact through the big day, the entire experience was seamless and stress-free: * Communication & Planning - Michelle was terrific from start to finish: quick responses, clear menu of options, and thoughtful suggestions to match our vision and budget. * Booking Process - Straightforward online deposit, contract, and details--everything handled smoothly without back-and-forth hassle. * Set-Up & Design - Walking into the venue as she finished was a "wow" moment. The balloon décor looked exactly as pictured--actually better. * Professionalism - Friendly, efficient, and clearly experienced. Arrived on time, worked quickly, and left the space picture-perfect. * Value - décor isn't the cheapest category, but for the quality, customization, and zero stress, pricing felt very reasonable. All in all, Chicago Balloon Twister exceeded expectations and helped make our kid's first birthday look festive without me stressing over decorations or dragging baloons across town. Highly recommended for anyone who wants professional, polished, and fun balloon décor for a special occasion.

awesome balloon creations!…read more we used michelle's services for our kids paw patrol party and it was a big hit with her! she still talks about her awesome balloons! communication was super easy and i never had a problem getting in touch with michelle. i just sent her a couple examples of the colors and what i liked and she was able to deliver spot on! on the day of the party, she came early to set up. i have absolutely no complaints, just all compliments for such a great product and smooth, easy set up.