One of the tales told in Balloon Man’s original style was that the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. There was also a visit from Blueberry, the puppet comedian and lessons taught about the value of the library as Holladay told the children he first learned magic and balloon-sculpting skill from books he checked out from a library back in the 1990s. 

“I would look at a picture and then make it make myself,” Holladay said. 

The show started at 2:00 p.m. and kept all the children captivated for 40 minutes. And afterward, many lingered with their respective guardians to see what books the library had to offer. 

Holladay, who travelled to Hope from Carrolton, Texas, said afterward he has been doing his show for 25 years. “I love entertaining kids and seeing their smiles light up,” he said. “And also teach them something along the way.” 

As well as reading promotion, his show included content promoting the civil treatment of peers. “The most important thing to learn is we all need a whole lot of love,” he said, while constructing a Valentine heart from four balloons he twisted into braids.