Catching her breath after US challenge
A talented Wishaw balloon artist was walking on air after becoming the only Scottish participant in her field to help create the very first Big Balloon Build in America.
Jacqui Young and her team from the town’s Classic Touch Balloons company showcased their brilliant breathing abilities to carefully construct a giant replica of the board game Candy Land, using an incredible 125,000 balloons.
They j etted off to Vincennes, Indiana for a breathtaking task that was anything but child’s play.
Jacqui was one of 65 balloon artists from around the world to take part in the first Big Balloon Build held outside the UK.
Jacqui has decorated venues for every kind of celebration there is – but building a giant forest as part of a life-sized board game was a whole new challenge.
She told the Wishaw Press: “The Big Balloon Build was gifted to the charity United Way of Knox County in Indiana where it raised more than $ 180,000 for more than 30 charities in the community.
“Once completed, the display was open to the public. On the first day the door had to stay open three hours longer than scheduled to try and accommodate the long line-up.
“It marked the first time anyone had tried to make a oversized board game out of balloons.
“I was on team Plumpy. We created the gingerbread plum trees where Plumpy was the caretaker and I got to work alongside artists from the USA, Canada, England and the Cayman Islands.”
Jacqui, 56, l i ves in Coatbridge with husband Robert and son Kyle and has honed her craft over more than 30 years.
She said: “Everybody does balloons, but not many people are certified balloon artists. I started in Airdrie and when I started, there were very few training opportunities and I mainly did weddings.
“I stopped when I had my son Kyle about 19 years ago and got a job in a kilt shop in Glasgow when he was a baby before getting back into it.”
On her Ameri c a n adventure, Jacqui added: “Being on the USA build was both exciting and exhausting.
“This was my second Big Balloon Build and the more I do, the more I love it.”