Wendell Clendennen started twisting tubes of latex into crazy shapes as Stretch the Clown in 1989. He later dropped the make-up and began specializing in balloon art as Stretch the Balloon Dude. With a slightly twisted view of balloons and life in general, Stretch’s creations take ordinary balloon art and make it extraordinary. Strech was an instructor at Summer Balloon Camp 2006 in Las Vegas and Twist & Shout 2006 in St. Louis.  He, along with his wife Leila, started G.O.T. Balloons (A Gathering Of Twisters) ia popular monthly balloon jam in the North Texas area.  Stretch will conduct the classes:

Impromptu Twisting  Getting to Know the Duckbilled Platypus - If you’ve been twisting more than a day you’ve probably heard this challenge, “Hey, can you make a duckbilled platypus?’  Bring your on the spot challenges and learn how to create those odd requests.  You’ll no longer be afraid to ask them what they want.

Just Say No...To Boring Animals  Tired of making the same animals as everyone else?  Worried that someone will think you’re a beginner because all of your balloons look just like the ones their 14 year old can make?  Stretch shares some of his amazing animal creations that will get you the oohs and aahs, but won’t take you all day to make.

Let’s See You Top This  Learn how to make some of Stretch’s crazy, fast and fun hats that will make you top dog at any party or festival.  People of all ages love balloon hats and they will love it when you make these wacky hats for them.

Julian Franklin is the author of 14 books on the business of performing professionally, including his newest book "Kid Control: Behavior Management for Performing Artists". He has been a regular columnist for the past four years in The Linking Ring (the most widely distributed magic magazine on the planet) and has also had columns published in 12 other magazines. He is a full-time performing artist who uses puppets, magic, music, and comedy to help deliver educational and motivational messages in schools and libraries all over Texas, performing as many as 700 paid engagements per year."

 Viral Marketing  Viral Marketing is being able to spread your message from person to person while maintaining complete, or almost complete control of the message. The internet is ONE tool to help you in this, but not the only tool, and quite possibly not even the most effective tool.  It is possible to stimulate, direct, and even control a word of mouth message if it is done correctly from the start. The results can revolutionize your business.

Bob Adbou received puppets and dummies for Christmas and birthday gifts as a child. In 1990, although he had a successful career in printing, he decided that he needed a hobby.  After 20 years, a new puppet named Woodie joined the Abdou household.  One puppet became two which became four which became eighty!  In 1994, Mr. Puppet was born and Bob became a full-time puppeteer and ventriloquist.

Puppets at parties for a profit  This class will show you how to obtain work, use phone skills to seal the deal, monitor and organize your business to maximize the full potential you have to offer as an entertainer.  It ocmes down to this....using puppet as parties for a Profit!  Bring your puppet to class and Bob will help you with your puppet skills.

Joke writing and being Funny   Having Soupy Sales as a friend has taught Mr. Puppet the right and wrong way of writing comedy.  You will learn how to write jokes (not skits) that will guarantee laughs as you perform with your puppet or partner.  Bring a pad and pencil and your funny bone!  Bring your puppet to class and Mr. Puppet will help you with your puppet skills.
 

The "Queen of Theme" hails from the windy city of Chicago,IL.  Sue has presented hundreds of classes across the country as well as in Canada, Mexica and the UK with creative and imaginative presentations that will blow you away!  She continues to enhance the levels of learning and shared commitment to the art of entertainment with a wide variety of different presentations for every level of entertainer along with an exceoptional display of topics to choose from.

Clown Dancing Silliness is required! Come and experience one of the most exciting classes and best crowd warm ups ever! Guaranteed to make you share in tears of laughter! Clown movements and dances will be learned for a variety of different events and ages. (esp. for family fun)

Say Cheese  Be prepared BEFORE you have your professional pictures taken.  Hands on pointers will help you learn what works best for you. Learn how to make an unforgettable statement of yourself that will win you recognition.

Once Upon A Red Nose (Storytelling)  Class participation and endless ideas are given and demonstrated to make your stories more visual and memorable. Learn how to use your entertaining experience along with magic, costuming and props to enhance your stories. For all levels of tellers and want to be’s.

The Art Of Using A Face Canvas: (Face Painting)  This class is for beginners as well as the experienced painters. Artistic abilities are learned and confidence is gained. Helpful ideas and exciting creations are developed. Bring supplies with or try out samples provided in class. 

Games, Contests and the Pursuit of Fun!  Share in the laughter as “FUN” is placed back into the first place position for every age level of games we play. Indoors and outdoors alike, adaptations, safety, audience participation, give-a-ways, family time and challenges are all covered. It’s a hoot!

Brett Roberts has been in the entertainment industry for over twenty
years. His goal is to combine special effects, magic and puppetry to create
variety shows for the whole family. He has performed for the Fort Worth
Symphony, Hawkwood Renaissance Fair, The Fort
Worth Zoo, Six Flags Over Texas, The International Wild Life Park, national commercials and many other productions and events. Brett is a full time performer who is supporting his family while living out his dream of entertaining people.

Practical Magic   After spending eight years selling
magic tricks to magicians and clowns, Brett has learned which tricks
are entertaining without requiring any set up. Whether you're performing
strolling magic or several shows on a Saturday, these are routines that
are ready any time you need them. There's no need for fiddling around
getting a prop ready for a routine. Some of these routines use tricks available
at any magic store while others use simple props you probably already have.
Brett will even teach a fun filled, ten minute routine using nothing but a
handkerchief. Now that's Practical Magic!

 Dal Sanders has been studying and performing the art of magic as a full time professional for almost thirty years and has put his entire heart and soul into the job. He is a well traveled entertainer who has performed across the United States in all 50 states and has been seen in several foreign countries as well.  In addition to headlining his own shows, Dal Sanders has shared the stage with Bill Cosby, The Beach Boys, Toto, Styx, Huey Lewis and the News, The Dixie Chicks, Gary Lewis and The Playboys, Spyro Gyra, The Grassroots, Foghat, Gabe Kaplan, Kenny Rogers and Gladys Knight. Dal Sanders has also performed his magic on numerous Television specials, commercials and films. He has designed special magic for many large corporations and for several school shows. His first themed show was The Magic Of Santa which debuted in 1978.

 Holidazzle   This lecture will cover clever customized magic for the various holidays that is sure to make your audiences laugh and say wow. There will be magic for Christmas, Halloween, Birthdays, Easter and even Dr. Seuss’ Birthday.

Doris Fletcher is not only a clown in her own right performing at birthday parties, church functions, mission trips and contest for many years but also has a great reputation for creating custom clown costumes. She is the owner, designer and main seamstress of The Clown Closet . With her experience and knowledge of sewing and designing she has gained a solid reputation among her customers by creating prize winning costumes. Doris had conducted many classes on sewing and has expert knowledge on fabrics, sewing techniques, and design. 

Is your costume right for your clown?  Doris will present you with a colorful slide show of the three basic clown types and explain proper costuming for each. She will also introduce you to some very famous clowns and tell you a little bit about each of them. If you are just getting started in clowning and don’t know exactly what your look should be or if you are an old-timer needing a new look, this is the class for you.

Design and make your own costume. If you are planning on making your own costume or having someone else make it for you, this workshop will arm you with many tips on fabric choices, sewing techniques and the many ways to trim your costume. You will learn how to choose colorful fabrics and turn them into beautiful costumes by choosing companion fabrics that work with them to give you that "clowny look". You will also learn how to choose regular clothing patterns and turn them into "clown patterns". Even if you are not into sewing, this class will provide you with knowledge to share with your seamstress as she makes your costume for you. You will also be able to spot a good ready-made costume from "off the rack".