Soapy, Foamy Fun at BubbleFest Cleveland 2024 #BubbleFest2024

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On Sunday, September 8, 2024, our family was very fortunate to attend the BubbleFest Cleveland public event at University Circle's Wade Oval. We also went to the evening BubbleFest Variety Show as guests of one of the organizers, Steve Presser!

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It all started for our family when Stuart saw the following social media post that contained very interesting information about the event:

Steve Presser's August 16, 2024, Social Media Post

Bubble Fest is 3 weeks off. I love the expressions on people's faces when I discuss the "Bubbling Community"
The responses range from " what is a bubbling community ? There's an International Bubbling Community? They get paid to do bubbles? "
Well Folks... I have to tell you that there is an vibrant, growing International Bubbling Community of Professional Bubble Performers and they are coming to Cleveland for an International Bubble Convention(yes, that too exists) and you, the public have an opportunity to see these Amazing Bubble Blowing Artists perform at 3 events over 2 days Saturday - Sunday September 7th-8th
DON'T MISS THESE EVENTS!
You'll thank me later

Here is Tom Noddy, who is considered to be the Godfather or Grand Poobah of Modern Day Bubblers, on the Johnny Carson show from 1983.
So after you watch this video…
Please tell me that you now understand what a bubbler is and does

PLEASE SHARE...We want the bubblers from around the world to see how Cleveland Loves to have Fun!

Bubble Magic with Tom Noddy on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - 01/05/1983

We are so glad to have seen Steve Presser's post and the video he shared, since it led to lots of bubbly fun! We wrote this blog post to thank and honor the organizers of #BubbleFest2024. We are so lucky in Cleveland that this international bubblers convention took place here, and that the convention attendees chose to share their outstanding talents with the public. They provided two FREE events and a special variety show featuring the best bubblers from all over the world!

 

 

September 6-11, 2024 - Announcing Bubblers-Only Private Convention & Three Public Events

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As background to the events we attended, we invite you to learn more about this international organization by reading some of the information from their event website (info & workshops/seminars) and from Cleveland area media:

Association of International Bubble Artistes Members-Only Convention

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BubbleFest Cleveland Info

We are so excited that BubbleFest Cleveland 2024 is taking shape as a first class event, with multiple performances, workshops, and other fun things for our international bubblers and the public to enjoy. ​

Previously the BubbleFest was in Berlin, Germany last year and the year before, it was in London, England. We are proud and can't wait to bring BubbleFest 2024 to our hometown! Here is a schedule of what's happening for BubbleFest...

Thursday and Friday September 5th-6th: Media Days at all of the local TV stations. Live performances, by a bevy of bubblers, with on air talent are always greatly received.

Friday night September 6th, we are hosting a private meet and greet Barbecue, with a great live 1960's/70s rock revival band, in a backyard in Cleveland Heights. Think Americana here.
This will be the first time that many of the international and national bubblers will get to meet each other.

. . .

Monday and Tuesday Convention Workshops and lectures will be held in a hotel ballroom. These are private events for the benefit of the attending professional bubblers.

Our intent is also to provide a private outdoor small bubble event, on the roof gardens, for patients and staff at Rainbow Children's Hospital.
As you can see, BubbleFest Cleveland 2024 is going to be special for both the public and the bubblers.

Monday 9th & Tuesday 10th September @ Tudors Arms Hotel - Bubblers Workshops & Lectures. Please note that lectures are for the development of Bubble Artists. There are lots of other activities for family & friends to attend during the festival.

. . . CLASS INFO & CLASS DESCRIPTIONS.

 

Media Coverage Before BubbleFest Cleveland 2024

Be sure to read these three articles to learn the history of BubbleFest, and see interesting bubble photos/videos:

• Bubble Fest Headed to Cleveland in September
  Bubble performers from around the world will attend the event
  Posted Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at 11:04 am. By Jeff Niesel - Cleveland Scene

  Years ago, Gary ["Dr. U.R. Awesome"] Pearlman used to set up shop at Big Fun, a Cleveland Heights toy shop, as a performing magician on the weekends. . . . In 2015, Dr. U.R. Awesome set the Guinness World Record for the largest free floating bubble outdoors at Wade Oval with a bubble that measured 96.27 cubic meters. . . . Each year, many of the international bubblers get together for a Bubble Fest, where they perform for the public. Last year, Bubble Fest was held in Berlin, Germany, and the previous year, London, England hosted the event. This year, it’ll be in Cleveland. . . . "It is going to be a really cool show!" says Big Fun owner Steve Presser, a longtime friend of Pearlman's. "These folks really know how to perform!"

• Bubble Fest 2024 coming to Cleveland for first time
  Posted August 27, 2024, at 6:00 pm. By Braedon Olsen. ("Braedon Olsen is the David & Judy Zwick Family Fund Intern at the Cleveland Jewish News.")

  . . . Gary Pearlman, who performs under the name Dr. U.R. Awesome and has organized much of the event, told the Cleveland Jewish News this year will mark the third Bubble Fest, and the first one hosted in the United States. . . . before becoming involved with the bubble community, he spent weekends performing as a magician and balloon twister at the Big Fun store owned by Steve Presser, a friend from seventh grade. . . . Now, he owns 15 Guinness World Records, . . . Pearlman said this year’s Bubble Fest will bring over 75 members of the bubble community from around the world to Cleveland, many of whom are considered “the best of the best.” Featured performers will include Tom Noddy, the “Godfather” of modern bubbling, who appeared on “The Tonight Show” starring Johnny Carson in 1983, and Blaise Ryndes, a 22-year-old who began bub-bling when he was nine and has been featured on “America’s Got Talent.” . . . “I use it as a motivation tool, really, to show boys and girls that anything’s possible if you put your mind to it,” he said. “If I can do it, you can do it. Stay in school, dream big, don’t let anybody burst your bubble, and you, too, can be and do whatever you want to do.”

• Bubble blizzard: Two-day Bubblefest hits Edgewater, Wade Oval, Heights High
  Posted Thursday, August 29, 2024. By Karin Connelly Rice - Freshwater Cleveland

  Despite the 90-degree temperatures and high humidity in Cleveland recently, longtime friend and Cleveland Heights Schools classmates Steve Presser and Gary Pearlman, AKA Dr. U.R. Awesome, are predicting blizzard conditions in Cleveland on the first weekend in September.
  
  Before eyes start rolling, Presser, known best for his three-decade run as owner of the iconic Big Fun in Cleveland Heights, is quick to assure residents that the blizzard prediction is for bubbles—and lots of them—during Bubblefest . . . Bubblefest began several years ago as a small, informal gathering of bubble enthusiasts in London, then later in Berlin. Pearlman, Northeast Ohio’s own bubble expert and multiple Guinness Book of World Records holder, has brought the event to Cleveland. . . . “These are literally probably the top 10 in the world right now who will be joining me,” says Pearlman, who himself holds 15 Guinness World Records for bubble performances. . . . A special guest of honor will be 98-year-old Alice Stickler . . .

 

Media Coverage with Photos of BubbleFest Cleveland 2024

Be sure to see these two articles with photos from the public events:

• Clevelanders gather at Edgewater park for Bubble Fest 2024
  Posted September 7, 2024, at 6:01 pm. By Spectrum 1 News Staff | Cleveland

  This is the first time Cleveland hosted the event, bringing in bubble artists from all over the world.
  
  "Oh, this is amazing,” Bubble magician River Berry said. “To meet all these bubble artists all over the world from Germany to the Ukraine, to the things that come together and just having a lot of fun and providing something cool for the public."

• PHOTOSTREAM: Bubblefest @ Wade Oval by Anastasia Pantsios
  Posted Sunday, September 8, 2024. By Anastasia Pantsios - CoolCleveland.
  You can also view Anastasia Pantsios's photos in a Flickr album: 09.08.2024 Bubblefest @ Wade Oval
  by CoolCleveland on Flickr.
  

 

 

Saturday & Sunday, September 7 & 8, 2024 - Two FREE Public Events

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Saturday, September 7, 2024 - Drone Video of Edgewater Park Event

Go west young man...
Saturday September 7th @ Edgewater Park, along the shores of Lake Erie, from 1:00 - 5:00...BubbleFest Begins! World renowned bubblers, many of whom hold multiple Guinness World Records, will dazzle the crowd immensely with their amazing bubble talent and skills.
A Children's activity tent will be open with demonstrations and workshops on creating bubble tools and toys. Food trucks will be present
Edgewater Saturday event is free and open to the public.

Unfortunately, we had to miss the part of #BubbleFest2024 that took place on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at Cleveland Metroparks Edgewater Park, but we did find a drone video showing the bubbly fun from that day:

 

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - University Circle Bubbles with Excitement!

Now for our east side friends and community . . . .
Sunday September 8th @ Wade Oval in beautiful University Circle... BubbleFest Continues with Round 2! 12:00-4:00 Bubble Show
World renowned bubblers, many of whom hold multiple Guinness World Records, will dazzle the crowd immensely with their amazing bubble talent and skills.
A Children's activity tent will be open with demonstrations and workshops on creating bubble tools and toys.
After BubbleFest ends at 4:00pm, the public will be treated to a special free concert by hometown favorite, Cats on Holiday, on the Kulas Stage of Wade Oval from 4:00-6:00pm.
Food trucks will be present
Wade Oval event is free and open to the public.

We enjoyed walking among the bubbles in Wade Oval with our son, Michael Smith, and our friend, Monica Silver. The weather was perfect, with the sunshine and gentle breeze highlighting the beautiful, colorful, bubbles!

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - University Circle BubblesFest Music

Music added to the fun, provided by DJ Steven Burchard of Magical Memories Entertainment, and the band Cats on Holiday.

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We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

 

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - University Circle BubbleFest Foam Party!

Dr. U.R. Awesome
FOAMAPALOOZA
It's Foams of Fun!

The Wade Oval event ended with a foam party! It was a joy to watch the children's faces as they were rollicking in the foam!

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

 

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Evening BubbleFest Variety Show

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Sunday Night September 8th @ Cleveland Heights High School Auditorium, a once in a lifetime, theatre extravaganza performance, featuring the best of the best bubblers in the world, on stage for the first time together. Show starts at 7:00pm and will be over by 9:30pm. This will be a paid ticketed event... Fun for the Whole Family!!

 

BubbleFest Variety Show with Seven Bubbleologists

This amazing show featured the following seven renowned indoor bubbling specialists!

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

 

BubbleFest Show - Honors & Awards

A special guest of honor will be 98-year-old Alice Stickler—a bubble artist in her own right and the daughter of the late bubble pioneer Eiffel Plasterer, ‘the nutty professor of bubbles”—is coming from Indiana to make an appearance. Pearlman says Noddy will present Stickler at Sunday night’s variety show.

After the featured bubblers, came the honors/awards section of the program. First, event organizer, Gary Pearlman (AKA Dr. U.R. Awesome), recognized Alice Stickler as the oldest member of the Association of International Bubble Artistes. Event organizer Steve Presser and bubbleologists Tom Noddy and Sterling Johnson were honored by each being put in a giant bubble by Bubble Artist Blaise Ryndes. Tom Noddy was also presented with an Association of International Bubble Artistes Lifetime Achievement Award.

After the event, Blaise Ryndes shared some of my photos and the following text on social media about the honorees:

. . . I also had the opportunity to meet the “Queen of Bubbles”, the lovely Alice Stickler (the daughter of bubble legend Eiffel Plasterer). It was so special to be able to bond with her on this trip. At 98 years old, she is the oldest member of the Association of International Bubble Artists, and at 23 I am the youngest (75 years between us).

There were so many amazing moments throughout this trip, but the highlight for me was being able to put my idol and inspiration Tom Noddy inside of a bubble, where I also had the opportunity to present him with the first ever Association of International Bubble Artists “Lifetime Achievement Award”. When I learned that Tom would be performing in the variety show, I wanted to honor his unbelievably significant contributions to the bubble arts throughout his 50+ year career! . . .

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

 

BubbleFest Show - Closing

The grand finale and post-show activities included the audience batting around giant balloons, and getting pictures with some of the performers! In closing, we want to again thank the organizers and performers who made this amazing day happen!

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

Watch for Documentary

We learned that a documentary about BubbleFest Cleveland 2024 is being produced. Be sure to watch for it!

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Related Blog Posts

We always like to include a list of related blog posts that may be of interest to our readers.

See these two blog posts that mention the creativity of Steve Presser and his wife Debbie Apple-Presser:

• Blog Date: September 18, 2022 - FRONT International Days & PechaKucha Night Cleveland - University Circle
  See the embedded tweets in the "Friday, July 29, 2022 - PechaKucha Night Cleveland in CWRU’s Toby’s Plaza" section which includes Steve Presser's and his wife Debbie Apple-Presser's PechaKucha presentation.

• Blog Date: June 15, 2024 - 32nd Annual Parade the Circle and Circle Village 2024
  See the red section of the parade, which started off with Debbie Apple-Presser's ensemble. There is also a link to a CoolCleveland article which contains an interview video of Debbie Apple-Presser.

 

We arrived early for the BubbleFest Cleveland 2024 Variety Show, and thus were seated right behind the VIP section reserved for attendees of the international bubblers convention. Stuart was glad to talk with Matthew "Major Scales" Edick of Divine Harmony Entertainment as he was going to his seat in the VIP section, since he had talked to him during the Ingenuity Cleveland fundraiser on Saturday, May 4, 2024. "Major Scales" can be contacted on the "FAQ Contact and Booking" web page of: DivineHarmonyPerformanceArt.com Stuart had written two blog posts about recently enjoying Major Scales's juggling act with the 9th Avenue Street Circus at two venues:

• Blog Date: April 4, 2024 - Celebrating House Three Thirty's One-Year Anniversary on "330 Day!”
  Be sure to watch the video in the "Family Room Entertainment" section of the blog post in full screen mode.

• Blog Date: May 8, 2024 - Flights of Fancy - An Ingenuity Bal 2024
  See photo of the 9th Avenue Street Circus jugglers.

 

The two FREE BubbleFest Cleveland 2024 events took place in the Cleveland Metroparks and in University Circle, so we also want to welcome you to view our past blog posts with the following related tags:

• "Cleveland Metroparks" - 34 past blog posts about the Cleveland Metroparks.

• "University Circle" - 75 past blog posts about events we have attended in University Circle.

 

 

 

 

Disclosure: We received general admission tickets to the evening BubbleFest Variety Show from Steve Presser. We appreciated the opportunity to attend, and greatly enjoyed the show!