OCEAN CITY — Amid her busiest time of year, a local business owner is trying to educate the public about the proper handling of balloon décor and steps being taken to minimize or eliminate the harm they pose to the environment.
Perhaps the biggest balloon night of the year is New Year’s Eve, with the Superbowl following right on its heels, so Laura Gibbons, owner of Showstoppers Plus: The Partyology Firm on Eighth Street, has had her hands full.
Gibbons, who has been a self-proclaimed “partyologist” for more than 20 years, is a member of the Pro Environment Balloon Alliance (PEBA), a U.S. organization committed to educating balloon artists about their proper safety and disposal. She specializes in balloon design and safety.
Gibbons gained her certification for balloon artistry in 2000, and shortly after opened her first Partyology location in North Brunswick. She has been practicing ever since, and her newest endeavor is opening her second location in Ocean City in summer 2020.
The Partyology Firm uses a special balloon manufactured by Qualatex that is biodegradable and filled with air as opposed to helium, making it more environmentally friendly.
“We do not do helium balloons outside. We really are against it,” Gibbons said. “We try not to do any balloon releases and anything that goes up into the air. What we do down there most of the time is latex balloons that are biodegradable.”
Gibbons explained the extra steps her firm takes to ensure her clients can enjoy balloon decor outside their home without the ocean breeze blowing them away.
“There is always something we secure it to because it’s so windy down the shore versus up north here. So usually everything we do outside is usually secured or on a pole, weighed down, and most of it is not helium,” she said.
Gibbons explained how she educates all of her clients about the proper disposal of balloons, especially ones filled with helium. After getting the most out of the balloon decor, she recommends disposing helium balloons over a trash can, releasing the contents and throwing them away.
When a helium balloon is released into the air, it poses a threat to multiple entities.
“It can get caught in a plane engine, a bird can choke on it … it’s just not good,” Gibbons said.
She said the city initially banned balloon displays during Night in Venice last summer but at the time was not aware that latex balloons are biodegradable and that anything she does outside is secured on a pole or a fishing line.
Gibbons said the city strongly discouraged outside balloon decor until she approached officials to set them straight. She said she even successfully tied balloons to a tiki boat for a party she planned over the summer.
“We have a certificate with PEBA, which basically means that we inform clients of all that information when they take balloons out of the store or if we do a job for them, so they are aware of the safety issues of it,” she said. “We tell them when they leave with helium balloons, ‘Do not put them outside, they won’t last.’”
Gibbons obtained a degree in design and display from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City before she opened her first Partyology location. She is also a recent author, as her first book of trivia, “Highly Hysterical Trivia,” debuted in 2018.
The Partyology Firm is at 411 E. Eighth St., Ocean City. For more information call (609) 601-4227.
By ELIZABETH LITTLE/Special to the Sentinel