It was September 1st, 2023, the last Day of the Canadian National Exhibition. I attended with my sister, my daughter and my granddaughter. We had a great time trying out the dill pickle candy floss and the cheeseburger ice cream, although we all agreed that the ice cream was a horrible fail. We love the CNE, and it’s a tradition for us to go every summer. First it was just my sister and I enjoying time together, wasting money like drunken sailors on the carnival games and the casino. Soon my daughter started joining in the fun. Now my granddaughter has joined our gang of sketch bags. If I had one criticism about the CNE, there aren’t enough new and exciting things showcased from year to year. So many vendors and so many attractions are the same every year, in the same spot, selling the same stuff. Back in the day, a national exhibition was where the latest and greatest was introduced to the world. The telephone, the color television, and touchscreens were all unveiled to the world at fairs. Cherry Coke and ice cream were invented specifically for fairs. After closing the CNE, exhausted and money all gone, my sister and I took the train home. We were discussing that a foam party attraction was missing from the CNE. The visual appeal alone of the foam flying through the air creating a foam zone where participants could dance, cool off from the heat, and just experience the sensation of being covered in fun foam.
It was from this visit to the CNE, and the discussion on the train ride home, that I decided to start a foam party business. At fairs or festivals, participants would pay 10 bucks to enter the foam zone for 20 minutes of foam fun.
I thought it would be fun to have the foam spewing from a dragon’s mouth to add some excitement and personality to the attraction. A dragon roar would be heard between the blasting party songs. I created dragon heads out of light weight material to cover the foam cannons. I registered a patent for foam cannon character covers, whether it's a shark, dolphin, blowfish....you get he idea.
I had no idea that my first year in business would be 'The Year of the Dragon’. Incidentally, I was also born in the year of the dragon, so it looks like an interesting year ahead!
The colors yellow and blue are considered lucky in the year of the dragon. I honestly had no idea when I painted Chuck the dragon. Go figure! In Chinese culture, the dragon did not breathe fire, but clouds. The dragon controlled the weather. He rose from the sea and breathed clouds to provide the much needed rain.
Who knew? Our foaming Dragons breathe clouds of foam to provide much needed fun!
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