My friend, Holly Beck, called yesterday and said they (The Balloonman) were doing a big balloon arch for the ground-breaking ceremony for the new library in Walnut Creek CA. She wanted to know if I was interested in stopping by – so I did.

I don’t know how big this sucker was, but the winds came up and we were hard pressed to keep the balloon arch looking like an arch.

Walnut Creek Mayor Gwen Regalia and the City Council were on hand to give speeches, dig dirt and have pictures taken to celebrate the launch of the construction phase of the project.

After the speeches, we had to move the arch to the bare dirt area of the site where everyone grabbed a shovel and dug a little dirt while photographers on top of the building across the street took pictures.

The Balloonman is extremely busy right now with graduation events. Holly tells me the next six weeks are the busiest time of the year for them, though New Year’s Eve remains the single busiest business day for them. The Balloonman is in their twentieth year of business.