Atlanta party planners taking balloons to great heights with first balloon convention in Duluth
Oscar Baker and his business partner, Lery Massey, aren’t the type to blow things out of proportion. Then again, maybe they are.
They hosted the first balloon convention in Georgia, and quite possibly the country.
“This is really big. This is really fun, because this is our very first one,” Oscar said.
The ballroom at the Fairfield Inn in Duluth was party central with more than 75 registered participants.
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Oscar and Lery can create almost anything out of balloons, and they teach others to do it too.
“Last year we did over 17 conventions in different states. We went everywhere, so we got a following. So why not get all of our students together under one roof and do this balloon thing,” Lery said.
They’re known as the Bow Tie Crew, co-owners of Lou And Lee’s Events and Designs in Metro Atlanta. In the party planning world, they are pioneers.
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“It’s a business dominated by women. There’s a lot of Black women in it. But when it comes to men, you don’t see many Black men,” Oscar said.
There have been some challenges.
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a balloon shortage, and this year some customers have cut back on their party plans because of inflation. But these guys are still “inflating.”
“You kind of go back to your childhood. You get to do all the things you might have seen in your childhood, and you get to recreate it,” Oscar said.
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