Balloon artists from across the country and world will travel to Kansas City to create a holiday toy town!
WHO: Troost Market Collective, Operation Breakthrough, KC Parks, Soul of Santa, Pop Culture Sculptures, Art Garden KC, The Big Balloon Build™, HASBRO
WHAT: Big Balloon Build KC is an international immersive balloon experience coming to the United States for only the second time ever! Balloon artists from across the country and world will travel to Kansas City to create a holiday toy town for the whole KC Metro to enjoy. Proceeds from the weekend will benefit Operation Breakthrough and Troost Market Collective.
WHEN: November 28 – December 4, 2022
WHERE: 18th and Vine, Gregg Klice Community Center
Kansas City has been chosen by The Big Balloon Build™ to host its second-ever U.S. exhibition, bringing together over 60 international balloon artists to create KC’s largest-ever immersive balloon installation.
For three days at the KC Parks and Rec Gregg Klice Community Center at 18th & Vine, 10,000 square feet will be transformed into “An Enchanted Journey to ToyTown,” a 4-D immersive experience with over 125,000 balloons, sights, sounds & holiday ambiance. The exhibit includes Magical Woods, a 20ft tall Ice Waterfall, a Whimsical Townsquare with a Cocoa Fountain and Train Station, as well as a Colossal Sized Toyshop. Additionally, HASBRO has partnered with this year’s KC installation to recreate many classic toys and characters in larger-than-life sized sculptures.
Once open to the public on Dec. 2nd, in addition to a larger than life Toy Town, this holiday balloon extravaganza will feature two Balloon Pop-Up Happy Hours inside of the exhibit, an outdoor Soul of Santa local Holiday Market, and Balloon Fashion Show Gala!
Local leaders of this one-time-only event include Troost Market Collective, known for the 2020 Black Lives Matter street mural installation and annual Troostapalooza festival; Art Garden KC, KC’s premier local art vendor festival; the team at Operation Breakthrough; and Pop Culture Sculptures, owned and operated by local balloon artists Peyton Westfall & Darren Huffman.
Pop Culture Sculptures has been KC’s premiere balloon art and installation team featured all over the metro from wedding expos & massive milestones, Chiefs celebrations, Worlds of Fun, KC Streetcar, and many more. Earlier this year, Westfall and Huffman were selected by UK based The Big Balloon Build™ along with a team of international Balloon Professionals to create a giant immersive balloon wonderland using over 500,000 balloons for the Give Kids the World charity in Orlando.
In each city chosen, The Big Balloon Build™ selects a local charitable cause, whose mission is to promote the health and wellbeing of children and communities, and provides this platform to raise money and awareness about their cause and mission. Longtime collaborators Operation Breakthrough and Troost Market Collective have been chosen as the beneficiaries for Kansas City.
“We are so excited for Kansas City to experience the Big Balloon Build. Imagine– 125,000 balloons that have been linked together to create a Holiday Toy Town by balloon builders from all around the world. What an amazing way to showcase the power of engineering and STEM! Proceeds from the Big Balloon Build will support workforce development for over 300 high school students who are learning industry recognized skills in STEM at our newly opened Ignition Lab. We are so fortunate that our teens will have opportunities to learn from these entrepreneurs, gain hands-on experience, and have a lot of fun!”
Mary Esselman, CEO, Operation Breakthrough
“Our team at Troost Market Collective could not think of a better way to kick of the holidays with the community. We’re so excited!”
Crissy Dastrup, Founder & Board Chair, Troost Market Collective
Schedule of Events: November 28 – December 4, 2022
Monday 11/28 – Wednesday 11/30: More than 60 International Balloon Builders arrive in 18th & Vine from across the globe to begin building Toy Town inside the Gregg Klice Community Center. Kids from Operation Breakthrough will join for some Project Based Learning in creative engineering!
Thursday 12/1 @1:00PM: Ribbon-cutting to ToyTown (Media encouraged to attend)
@5:30PM: Adults-only Happy Hour
Friday 12/2 @6:00PM: “Clockwork Noel Gala” a 1-night only Balloon Fashion Show featuring a dreamlike collection of unique dresses and wearables, fused with music and performance, worn by some of the community’s most familiar faces!
Saturday 12/3 @5:30PM: Adults-only Happy Hour
Friday 12/2 – Sunday 12/4 9:00AM-4:30PM: The Big Balloon Build will be open for public exploration and special programming opportunities throughout 18th and Vine.
Friday 12/2 – Sunday 12/4 11:00AM-6:00PM Soul of Santa Holiday Market curated by Art Garden KC
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.bigballoonbuildkc.com