Pioneer Balloon Company, manufacturer of Qualatex and Northstar balloons, recently hosted the world's largest virtual balloon convention, which ran continuously for 24 hours a day for five days.

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Wichita, KS, USA, APRIL 10, 2020 - Pioneer Balloon Company, manufacturer of Qualatex and Northstar balloons, recently hosted the world's largest virtual balloon convention, which ran continuously for 24 hours a day for five days.

The convention, which aired March 20 – April 3, was hosted on the Q Corner YouTube channel by Britain's Got Talent contestants, and regular Q Corner hosts Dominic Cassidy and Keith Stirman.

The event included 90 instructors and influencers from 22 different countries, presenting a vast array of online sessions for the balloon and party businesses. The virtual convention was an overwhelming success. In its first week on YouTube, the convention had approximately 400,000 views, over 6,000,000 million minutes watched, more than 112,000 comments in the live chat, and almost 6,000 shares.

According to the convention hosts, "How could this not be a huge success?! We had many of the VERY best instructors from around the world invite the balloon community into their stores/studios and sometimes living rooms! To share amazing advice, designs, techniques, wisdom and business skills for FREE. This was truly an AWESOME demonstration of just how truly AMAZING our instructors are, giving selflessly in this time when the industry needs us most."

Though they survived the event with only a few short naps each day, hosts Keith and Dom said the experience was something for which they'll always be grateful and remember. "This was the most 'inclusive' convention. Generally, everyone finds their own groups, friends, twisters, decorators, and then split by languages too. As the Q Corner Convention had just one chat room, which was always live, everyone talked with everyone. People were translating live in the chat, people were networking, people were supporting each other. The sense of the Qualatex Family has never been stronger, and the sheer positivity was overwhelming at times."

Participants in the convention were extremely positive about the experience. "It is a balloon artist's job to spread joy, and that is exactly what the Q Corner Convention did, it was, and still is, a lighthouse in the darkness. I'm so proud to be a part of such an incredible community!" said Anthony Lena, of Balloons of Pure Awesomeness in Nashville, TN, USA.

Derek Wong, of Twisted Inflations, Toronto, Canada, added, "It was amazing to see so many balloon artists around the globe united to help and share with the whole industry in such a difficult time. The Q Corner Convention is definitely a record-breaking event, and big thank you to everyone in Qualatex for putting this together in such a short amount of time. I feel such an honor and so proud to be part of this along with so many world-class instructors. Thank you so much, and I can't wait for more!"

And finally, from Sue Bowler, of Balloon Art by Sue, Buckinghamshire, England, "How easy would it have been to leave an industry made up of many thousands of independent, selfemployed balloon companies and artists to flounder during these unprecedented times. In our caring balloon industry/community this did not happen, Pioneer Balloon Company and the amazing guys from Q Corner turned a very big negative into one incredible positive, inviting some of the industry’s leading instructors, entertainers and designers to share their skills and knowledge in what can only be described as the Very Best Virtual Balloon Convention ever! I, for one, am very honoured and proud to have had the opportunity to be part of such an incredible event!"

A crowd favorite of the event was during the closing ceremonies when Keith and Dom danced along to a compilation of the instructors singing, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” from Monty Python.

As announced in the closing ceremonies, the Q Corner Convention will return! Plans for the next virtual convention are already underway.

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ABOUT US:

Since our founding in 1917, Pioneer® Balloon Company has grown into an international company with a passion for sharing the magic and wonder of balloons across the globe.

With five manufacturing facilities across three countries in North America, Pioneer supplies party balloons to five affiliate locations around the world. Qualatex®, Pioneer's flagship brand, is widely regarded as "The Very Best Balloons™" and includes an extensive selection of latex, Microfoil®, and exclusive Bubble balloons, for the décor, entertaining and retail markets.

 

CONTACT DETAILS:

For further information, please contact: Susan Dhillon, Marketing Communications Director Email: susan.dhillon@pioneerballoon.com

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