Despite the 90-degree temperatures and high humidity in Cleveland recently, longtime friend and Cleveland Heights Schools classmates Steve Presser and Gary Pearlman, AKA Dr. U.R. Awesome, are predicting blizzard conditions in Cleveland on the first weekend in September.

Bubblefest Cleveland Variety ShowBefore eyes start rolling, Presser, known best for his three-decade run as owner of the iconic Big Fun in Cleveland Heights, is quick to assure residents that the blizzard prediction is for bubbles—and lots of them—during Bubblefest on Saturday, Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 8 at Edgewater Park and Wade Oval, and culminating in the ticketed Bubblefest Cleveland Variety Show on Sunday, Sept. 8 at Cleveland Heights High School auditorium.

Presser says Bubblefest will delight people of all ages, with 75 professional bubblers from around the world registered to attend the public events and shows.

“I've never seen people so happy after experiencing bubbles,” says Presser. “There's just something about bubbles that everybody loves.”

Bubblefest began several years ago as a small, informal gathering of bubble enthusiasts in London, then later in Berlin. Pearlman, Northeast Ohio’s own bubble expert and multiple Guinness Book of World Records holder, has brought the event to Cleveland.

“I fought hard to get it over here,” he says. “There are others who wanted to bring it to Texas or Florida. With the pull that I had, they gave me the blessing and I was able to bring it here now to Cleveland.”

The main, free public festivals will take place on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7 at Edgewater Park from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 8 at Wade Oval from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., with a “Bubble Foam Finale” at 3 p.m.

Attendees can expect vendor tents, kids’ activities, food trucks, DJs, and of course, spectacular bubble demonstrations by expert bubblers from around the world.

The highlight of Bubble Fest will be the Bubblefest Cleveland Variety Show on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at Cleveland Heights High School auditorium, 13263 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights, 44118.

The performance will showcase the talents of top bubble artists, including Tom Noddy, who is known as the “godfather of modern bubbles” and appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1983. Another featured performer is Blaise Ryndes, who has been blowing bubbles since age nine and once encased model and celebrity Tyra Banks in a bubble on America's Got Talent.

You're going to see bubbles of all different sizes and shapes “These are literally probably the top 10 in the world right now who will be joining me,” says Pearlman, who himself holds 15 Guinness World Records for bubble performances.

Other notable performers during Bubblefest Cleveland include Meadow Perry, a magician with a bubble act who has performed at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, and CJ Bubbles who is coming from Singapore to participate.

A special guest of honor will be 98-year-old Alice Stickler—a bubble artist in her own right and the daughter of the late bubble pioneer Eiffel Plasterer, ‘the nutty professor of bubbles”—is coming from Indiana to make an appearance. Pearlman says Noddy will present Stickler at Sunday night’s variety show.

“Everybody looks forward to probably the world's oldest professional bubbler,” says Presser of Stickler’s appearance.
Presser and Pearlman will entertain the visiting bubble artists with activities, including a “Bubbles, Barbeque, and a Band” private party and a group dinner in Little Italy.
Pearlman says the weekend promises to be fun for everyone. “Whether you're 5, 55 or 95, there's just something about bubbles that everybody loves,” he says.

Tickets to Bubblefest Cleveland Variety Show on Sunday, Sept. 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. are $20; $15 for students and children aged 18 or younger and seniors age 65 and older.