28 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, April 17, 2020
community
Local balloon artist returns with ‘bubbles of hope’ By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net
T
hree weeks after she participated in the worldwide initiative ‘One Million Bubbles Joy’, Bahamian balloon artist Cecile WilliamsBethel got creative for the second stage of the global event with an elaborate Easter themed display. Called ‘One Million Bubble of Hope’ this time around, the event saw close to 1,900 balloon artists in 81 countries decorate their communities with eye-catching balloon art over the Easter weekend. According to the website, www.onemillionbubbles.org, “nothing brings smiles to people’s faces like balloons do, and the professional balloon decorating and entertainment industry wants to help people find their smiles and joy during this challenging and frightening time we have entered.” After paying tribute to healthcare workers during the first phase of the initiative, Cecile of The Balloon People said she wanted to provide something colourful and fun for Easter, especially for the children who missed out on the traditional holiday celebrations due to the ongoing lockdown. “The feedback has been so very positive. My focus this time was on wanting to first showcase the whole reason for the Easter season, and so following my balloon creation in my yard of the cross with palms onPalm Sunday and of the cross with the crown of thorns on Good Friday, it was natural for us to have a cross on Easter Sunday symbolising the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “And then I also wanted my display to be colourful and fun because my focus this time was especially for the children of our front line workers. That’s when I came up with the
concept of including decor elements associated with Easter such as the bunny rabbit creation,” she told Tribune Weekend. Cecile’s social media post about her Easter balloon art, she said, has probably been her most popular post in her 15 years of being in the industry, “The feedback has been positive, not only nationally but also from the international balloon community. To date, cumulatively the likes and reactions on social media were near 700. That’s a good feeling because it means my work made some other people feel really good, and the objective was achieved,” said Cecile. Because she took part in phase one, a purple balloon marker was placed on the map on the One Million Bubbles website showing that the Bahamas had participated and was represented in this global project. After all the amazing reactions and feedback that poured in, she said, it was only right to participate in the second phase. “This time we decided that the focus would be on bringing hope to people at a time when many may have had dampened spirits as a result of all thatis going on with the COVID19 pandemic. I am blessed to know that I have been gifted for such a time as this. We don’t know how long this will last. If what I am doing spreads joy, hope and love, then that’s what is important to me. Remember too, that for me at this time, like for many, there is currently no economic activity because events have all been cancelled and my storefront has been closed for about four weeks now. Participation uses up inventory, but if it brings positivity, then The Balloon People is in,” said Cecile.
THE ‘One Million Bubbles of Hope’ Easter display by Cecile Williams-Bethel, owner of The Balloon People.