Twist of fun

Flower balloons, heart-shaped balloons for Valentine's Day, balloons with maps of the world on them all float around Dave Truitt's one-window office in Mechanicsburg Brethren in Christ Church.

Truitt is the youth pastor there. He uses balloons to help teach the Bible's lessons to young children and — from time to time — to adults too.

"The church has definitely received it warmly," he said. "I've used balloons to teach sermons. It's gotten to the point where people always ask, ‘Are you going to use balloons today?' And sometimes they're disappointed."

Truitt is also the chief creative officer of his balloon business, Top Nozzle Entertainment.

He specializes in advanced balloon creations, such as twisting 5-foot, hot-dog-shaped balloons into a skiing Goofy, a water-walking Jesus or a 7-foot-tall balloon costume of the Bible's Goliath as a Halloween outfit for his son.

Truitt is one of hundreds of performers in Central Pennsylvania who supplement their daytime jobs by entertaining others at events such as carnivals, corporate meetings and business openings.

"This is their passion. Very few of them do it full-time," said Lisa Stokes, president of BRP Entertainment Inc., a brokerage that supplies entertainment for events such as weddings and meetings.

BRP of Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County, has between 800 and 1,000 local performers in its database, including strolling performers, comedians, bands, individual musicians and jugglers, Stokes said.

Most performers have regular jobs as teachers, businesspeople and mail carriers, but for whatever reason, they fell in love with a specific hobby, Stokes said. Some people play the acoustic guitar for bar patrons. Others are disc jockeys for weddings. Still others entertain children with balloon monkeys, caricatures and the occasional flea circus.

Jack Ritter tells his audience at the beginning of the show: You'll only leave with the fleas you came in with.

"I've been interested in magic and entertaining all my life," said Ritter, who owns Ritters True Value Hardware in Mechanicsburg. He's also the borough mayor.

Ritter has entertained people with his flea circus for about four years. Most of the time, Ritter doesn't charge a fee for performing if the cause is worthwhile, such as a church or community event. He often donates tips back to the organization for which he performed.

"It's just a fun thing," Ritter said, "something I do to feel like a human being."

Truitt said most people just fall into balloon creations and other entertainment hobbies. He was working at the Hotel Hershey as a lifeguard and the coordinator for children's activities in the early 1990s, while studying exercise science at Messiah College. He learned to twist balloons as a way to entertain children at the hotel.

"It was very basic," he said, "one-balloon dogs and such."

In 1998, balloons led Truitt into the ministry. A pastor from Bedford County called Truitt after hearing about him through a string of mutual friends. Truitt saw the light.