‘Balloon Man’ returns to Grape Festival

For those looking for a good laugh, Skip Banks’ “Hollywood Show on Wheels” has made its way to the Lodi Grape Festival.

“It’s a wild, crazy, fun comedy show where I do a spoof on different characters from pop culture, and at the end of the performance, I literally put myself inside of a balloon,” Banks said. “I’m dancing inside of it to M.C. Hammer’s ‘Can’t Touch This,’ and I try to escape without it breaking.”

According to Banks, the balloon act is the crowd’s favorite part show. He is even known as Skip “The Balloon Man” Banks, he said.

“It’s hard to top. It’s the creme de la creme of the show. It’s eye candy. It’s physical comedy at its best,” he said.

While Banks has performed his show at the Grape Festival several times in the past, it’s been about six years since he last visited Lodi. Since then he has made quite a few changes to the show. This year he will not be featuring his lifesized, dancing puppets.

Banks wants to bring hilarity to his audience and give them a chance to escape some of the everyday worries that plague their minds.

“Entertainment, in a way, is escapism, and if I can give them a 20-minute good memory to take home when they hit the pillow at night, mission accomplished,” he said.

His act has been featured on several TV shows, including “The Late Late Show,” “The Ellen Show,” “The Maury Show,” “Penn & Teller” and hundreds of others.

Banks is looking forward to the fun and excitement his show will bring to the audience. He will be performing three sets a day at a variety of locations throughout the festival.

For dates, times and locations of Banks’ show, visit