As a child, Addi Somekh had no noticeable artistic talent and even less of an interest in balloons. But as an eighteen year old with love sickness and car insurance bills, he began twisting balloons at restaurants in order to pay his bills and forget his problems. Mixed in with some heavy procrastination at school and an acute inability to have a boss, his part time gig blossomed into an unexpected obsession.

With his friend and photographer, Charlie Eckhart, Addi traveled to 34 countries and 20 US states making balloon hats for people and taking photos of them. Three years and 12000 photos later they came back home. A Balloon Kit followed, a Calendar, a Slide Show and even a Balloon Hat Movie. And now, he's coming to the Millennium Jam to teach his unique style of Balloon Hats.

The class will teach a system of making beautiful balloon hats quickly so you can transform a party, make for great photos, bigger tips, and repeat business. According to Addi, a good balloon hat can be compared to both playing with Lego and a good trumpet solo; that is, once you learn the basic building blocks, it is just a matter of arranging them in an attractive and thoughtful way.

The class for beginners will cover the basics and many intermediate hats will be made, with plenty of time for people to “get their hands dirty”. The advanced part of the class is about improvisation with balloons. Addi will also give a class about his new passion '2D wall decoration' where decor and twisting meet in abstract but elegant arrangements . Awesome stuff !