A Brief History of Magic

Illusions, spells, tricks and ceremonials are usually performed for entertainment by magicians. It is the seeming supernatural power which makes the impossible occur that makes magicians seem so appealing. Here we are going to go a little bit into the history of magicians. Not to be confused with the history of witchcraft, this article will be focusing on magicians as entertainers.

Ancient Magic Examples throughout History

In ancient Egypt, there was a magician named Dedi who performed in front of a crowd, where he supposedly beheaded two birds and one ox. He eventually restored the heads of these three animals. Because of this, the Egyptians were considered to be the first magicians recorded in history. You can read more about the History of Egyptian Magic across the internet.

Continuing on the Timeline of Magic

As the popularity of magic developed, tricks involving cups and balls were shown to the public. Then, playing cards, silver coins and dice were added to their slew of magical tricks.

Later on, ancient Greek magicians invented tricks involving the human body. A trick where a performer thrusts a dagger through one’s arm without being hurt has been developed and shown in public places.

The ancient Chinese civilization also paved the way for magic. The “linking rings” is one of the earliest tricks ever invented. To begin with, a number of rings link themselves. The rings are made up of solid metal and the illusion is that they eventually unlink themselves. You can learn more about Chinese history regarding magic here as well.

Famous Magicians in History

One of the greatest magicians of all time is Harry Houdini. He started as a trapeze performer in the late 1800′s and eventually became famous for his magical abilities. He began as an “escape artist” who bonded himself using locks or ropes and eventually released himself.

Spanish, Italian, British, French and American magicians presented their acts as magic and regained a popularity in the 1920′s.

Sawing a Woman in Half

In 1921, the world first witnessed a magician saw a woman in half. British performer Percy Tibbles cut through a box containing his woman assistant. After the trick, she appeared without a harm. It was on 17 January 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire, London, UK.

The first woman to be sawn in half was Jan Glenrose (in rehearsal) and Betty Barker (on stage). In this version the girl was entirely enclosed inside the box. The first performance of the version most widely recognized, with the head and feet protruding from the box, was by Horace Goldin (USA) on 3 June 1921 as part of the Society of American Magicians annual banquet at the McAlpin Hotel, New York, USA, but Goldin initially performed the illusion using a male assistant. You can read about this in the Guinness Book of World Records Online.

This trick became even more complicated when the woman assistant was ‘operated on’ with her hands, head and feet in full view of the audience. The assistant was sawed in half using a power-driven saw, and was later restored without a scratch on her head.

Spreading Magic across the world

Originally magicians were not paid for their work in theaters as they are today. They performed in open air markets where food and drinks were served to the public. By the mid-1900′s, they paved the doors for magicians to be ‘professional performers’ by requiring the public viewers to pay for watching magic shows.

In the 1950′s, television was invented so magicians were able to reach an even wider audience spectrum. During the 70′s, Siegfried and Roy re-ignited the interest in magical tricks by making large animals disappear. David Copperfield is also a major player in the field of magicians who offered great entertainment to the viewing public.

Special Birthday Party Clown Hiring Tips for Parents

Some kids love them, others feared them, and still, there are those that simply respect them. No matter how you personally feel about them, clowns are a staple at almost any party where kids are involved. As a parent, guardian or party planner, YTE Events has your back whenever you need the perfect clown for a birthday party. Here’s how to go about the hiring of the best birthday party clown.

Consider the Clown’s Acts

Clowns are entertainers who often have additional skills to showcase at parties. Therefore, consider what special acts are offered and see if they are what you are looking for at a party. A clown could, for instance, bring magic, face painting or balloon twisting to a party. There are also many other ways that a clown could entertain the young party monsters at the birthday party. It also pays to look at how much experience the clown has.

Look Beyond the Clown’s Nose

Behind all the makeup and clown mask is a real-life human whom you have to meet in person before hiring. Get to know who the performer is. It would be to your advantage if you got to understand his or her personality. Other aspects of the clown such as his or her website, blog and social media account may help you understand the performer before you bring him or her into your child’s party.

Consider the Package Being Offered

As mentioned earlier, a clown does a variety of things to keep your guests tickled. A clown may offer various acts in various entertainment packages. For instance, you might be asked to pay extra for a puppet show by one performer while to another all that is part of the clown act thus you won’t have to pay extra. Again, you must understand that packages differ from one clown to another. You there have to get only the package that works best for your child and his or her buddies.

Putting together outstanding clown birthday party entertainment is a cakewalk if you have an expert to guide you. Talk to YTE events, and we’ll get your clown party popping with unending fun.

Balloon Twisting for IKEA in Tampa for 75th Anniversary Event

Ikea is the go to place to buy furniture and everyone’s favorite Swedish meatballs. Adults flock to their stores for easy DIY home improvements and kids love their play area. Recently, Ikea in Tampa reached out to YTE Events & Balloon Décor to help make their 75th anniversary an event the whole family could enjoy. We were so excited to have this family event feature one of our balloon twisters, William. William had a great time twisting for the kids creating animals, hats, and of course superheroes! Even some of the adults got into the fun and had requests for William as well. Balloons can bring out the child in all of us and it made shopping so much more fun!

William is just one of our many talented balloon twisters. Balloon twisters can create just about anything a child can dream up. From princess crowns to Iron Man, we got it all covered. The best part is watching a child’s face light up as their request comes to life. This is one of the many reasons why our twisters love what they do daily. These aren’t the balloon animal artists of days past, our twisters can create works of art that will not only amaze children, but leave adults speechless as well.

Balloon twisters are not just for birthday parties anymore. They are great to hire for a multitude of events. Special events, such as the Ikea anniversary event, is just the tip of the iceberg. They are great way to provide distractions for children at otherwise adult functions such as weddings, retirement parties, and showers. Sporting events such as baseball games, football games, and school events are also a great opportunity for twisters to make you something team or school spirited to wear or show off to root on your favorite team.

YTE Events & Decor has the best balloon twisters in the Tampa Bay area. They are truly artists in their own right! Whether your function is a big occasion or a small gathering, our twisters can liven up your event with the creations that will entertain kids both young and old. Book one of our balloon twisters to amaze your guests and you will not be disappointed!

Elements of A Successful Henna Party

Henna birthday parties are always a memorable occasion. This is partly because the henna decorations remain on the skin for up to 5 weeks serving as a reminder of the fun times that were the hallmark of the birthday party. The perfect henna parties make the guests appreciate your friendship through the beautifully customized artwork that you gift them with at the party. You can make a henna party extra special by following these excellent tips.

Make A Statement with Your Birthday Party Theme

Henna parties are typically a place for friends to meet, relax have a good time while getting gorgeous paintings on their bodies, the theme you pick for the party should accentuate this. Oriental themes are a longtime compliment for henna parties. Evening henna parties, for instance, go great with an Arabian Nights theme. Therefore, pick a color scheme, decor, and decorations that take your henna party to the next level of cool.

Think Henna Party-Themed Food and Drinks

Henna parties give you a spacious ground to experiment with a broad range of cuisines. You may choose an Indian-themed party where you serve Indian food and chai. Folks love chai; you could go a step further and brew different teas including Tetley Elaichi chai, masala chai, and other herbal teas. A Moroccan henna party with Moroccan dishes being served will also be a huge success. The possibilities here are many. Merely pick your strongest cuisine and run with it.

Get an Excellent Artist

You will need a skilled professional at the helm of the henna artwork. Get someone who is able to work fast and accurately. It is a big plus if that person is also great at working with kids. YTE events has some of the world’s finest henna artists ready to come and blow everyone’s mind away with their spectacular henna designs.

DO Not Forget the Photos

Henna parties are one of the most memorable parties for kids. Photos will complement this by providing long-lasting mementos for the birthday child and her friends. Group photos, as well as individual photos, are sure to remain long after the henna has faded away.

When you are ready to book a henna artist for your orlando event, contact us at YTE Events Orlando and we will be happy to find the perfect entertainer or artist for your event!

Cinderella Baby Shower Themed Balloon Decorations

Nothing says little princess like a cinderella story princess themed baby shower. For this event, we decorated the area around the cake table with a beautiful organic tapered baby blue and silver arch. This twenty-five foot balloon arch was flanked on either side by a full size six foot tall sculpture of cinderella and her prince charming.

As people entered the event, the first thing that caught there eye was this massive piece over the cake table. It became a photo opportunity, a point of focus, and even a point of discussion during the event. The pieces were so much fun, that everyone seemed to absolutely love them. The regal feel of having Cinderella and her Prince at the event really helped to set the baby shower theme above and beyond.

Under the arch was placed a gorgeous Cinderella cake with a glass slipper topper. Adorned with blue roses and additional table decorations, the cake looked fantastic in its setting.

In addition to the cake, there were ‘forget-me-not’ cookies custom made by mother-in-law of mom and there were delicious flavored macaroons for guests to munch on while they were trying to satisfy their sweet tooth waiting for cake cutting time.

Not pictured, there were gluten-free chocolate cupcakes, sandwiches, chips, salsa, buffalo chicken dip, a fruit tray, veggie platter, and even a grab bag of twizzlers one of the guests thought would be a fun addition to the array of food set out for everyone.

One of the coolest pieces of decor for the event included an antique chest filled with spools of sewing thread, a stuffed animal version of Gus-Gus from the Cinderella movie, and a few other small additions. Once the party started, there was a photo of father and mother in front and then some children’s books in the back highlighting the theme of the event.

Mother and father were both surprised by this little royal addition to their event and absolutely loved the centerpiece. By using books from their childhood and photos of themselves, it really helped bring the baby shower decor home for them and made it much more enjoyable than other types of possibly store-bought decor.

The gift and card table before the start of the event was absolutely gorgeous. There was a diaper cake topped with a cinderella topper, princess-worthy birds holding up a display of infant clothes, and even a bookshelf ready to start their daughter on her way to being a new addition to the family.

It didn’t take long for this display to become overrun with lucious gifts, more diapers than you can imagine, and a whole library of children’s books that can be read to the little princess once she is born.

All in all, the princess themed baby shower went great! There was a decent mixture of hand-made items, purchased decor, and balloon decorations to help add to all the fun. Whenever we finish an event like this, it always amazes us just how much a simple square room can be transformed into a masterful piece of artwork fit for a queen.

If you would like to see how we can help decorate for your royal princess baby shower, please contact us on our event request form. We’d be happy to help your cinderella story come true too!

Secrets to Planning the Perfect Henna Birthday Party

Having a henna birthday party is an excellent way to bring all your birthday girl’s friends together to have fun and embrace the warmth of their friendship. Henna birthday parties are excellent for young girls, especially teenagers.

The Basics

For a successful henna birthday party, the theme had better be an oriental one. Think of Arabian Nights; especially if it is a birthday party sleepover! The party is majorly going to be about the young girls talking, bonding and having their hands and feet painted with henna.

The Traditions

In the olden days, particularly in South East Asia, henna painting was a serious affair. Henna night traditionally was the night before a wedding when the bride’s female relatives and friends would come together and get henna decorations on their hands and feet. It was during the henna night when the trousseau of the bride would be moved to her new home. Thankfully, nowadays henna painting is simply a fun-filled activity where everyone just relaxes and enjoys every part of the henna beautification process.

Essential Tips for A Great Party

• Not everyone has a right to make it to the guest list. If you want the henna party to meaningful to the birthday girl, invite only her closest friends to the party.
• The decorations should be brilliant, colorful and revolving around an oriental theme. Oriental dressing is recommended. However, it shouldn’t be too complicated and should make it easy for one to expose the hands and feet.
• Go extra big on music especially if you are hosting a large group. You shouldn’t shy away from even hiring a DJ. Nevertheless, play music that your guests love. You could even invite them to play their own
• Delicious food is a must. Serve delectable snacks and savory drinks at the party. Henna related snacks such as chaat are highly recommended. A chai bar is also not a bad idea. Have a food station set up where guests can have their pick at the delicious foods and drinks.
• Hire enough artists for the party. This is depended on the length of the party’s guest list as well as the duration of the party. YTE events is a one-stop shop for the finest henna artists and henna party supplies.

Why Fairy Tale Princess Birthday Parties Are Perfect Birthday Gifts

01If you have a daughter who adores Disney princesses, YTE events will help you give her a picture-perfect fairy-tale birthday party. Such a party needs a performer who makes the fantasy characters come to live. Our fairy tale princesses are impossibly beautiful and so convincing that your daughter is assured of achieving the ultimate fairy tale experience at the party.

Why Hire a Fairy Tale Princess?

The culture of princess worship has spread faster a bushfire in the Savannah in recent years. Young girls want to grow up wearing beautiful dresses, living in a castle while courting a handsome young prince from a land far, far away. Of course, when all this happens the child expects to live happily ever after. We all know that this is almost impossible. This is why professional princesses are an excellent party idea. Instead of squashing this dream, they come and give your young princess something better.

A fairy princess comes to the party and gives the birthday girl a glimpse of how fantastic fairy tale life can be.  They come in fabulous glittery dresses probably riding a horse or pony. They then entertain kids often with captivating stories that have moral teachings in them; some of these stories have very illuminating lessons for young kids.

A Glimpse into The Princess Party

The magnificent arrival of the fairy princess is simply out of this world. The entertainment begins from the get go. The princess may arrive in a spectacular carriage. Fantastical distracts such as fireworks, fairy smoke bombs and the like are used to make the arrival appear magical.

The sweet melodious music at the party will melt hearts. The princess inspires the feeling that life is a beautiful song.  As such, the music at the party is happy and uplifting. Most princesses have excellent party mixes for kids’ parties. The guests and birthday girl may also make requests for their favorite jams to be played.

The princess may come with special powers. Birthday princesses are entertainers. In an effort to keep the fun at full throttle, they may perform special acts such as magic, singing, dancing, juggling and may more interesting things.