A Last Minute Breast Cancer Awareness Balloon Arch at Contra Costa Country Club

Contra Costa Country Club in Pleasant Hill had booked us before, and the afternoon before their breast cancer fundraiser they asked us for a pink breast cancer awareness balloon arch, with setup at 8 the next morning. They wanted it on their stage with link balloons draped across the opening in layered scallops, and it landed on a day when the rest of my team was already booked for jobs in San Jose, in the opposite direction.

Saying yes to a last minute request means fitting it around the clients who booked first, and that day every team member already had a job to get to in San Jose. So instead of pulling someone off another install, I took the club's arch myself, and someone on my team inflated the balloons at our studio the night before, the way we prep every install.

Fitting a last minute balloon arch into a busy schedule

When a last minute request comes in, the first thing we look at is whether it fits around the jobs already on our schedule, because those clients booked first and their installs still have to happen on time. Distance matters as much as the clock, because one person can't be in Pleasant Hill and San Jose at the same time, so on a full day the answer is sometimes that I take the new job myself and the team keeps the jobs they already have. Every install starts the same way, with the balloons inflated and bagged at our studio ahead of time and the build done on site, which means whoever is free can load up and go. We use biodegradable latex balloons for every install.

From our studio to the stage at Contra Costa Country Club

Step 1 - Inflate the night before

Like every job, this arch was inflated at our studio before the install. Someone on my team came in the night before and inflated every balloon, including all of the link balloons, and bagged the clusters and strands so I could load them first thing in the morning.

Step 2 - Carry everything in

At the club it took a few trips up the driveway with a wheeled cart to bring in the sandbags, base plates, poles, my work bag and the ladder, along with every bag of balloons.

Step 3 - Bend the poles into a balloon arch

The balloon clusters were already attached to the poles, so on the stage I laid the poles down, connected them together with a base on each side, and then pushed the bases in so the poles bent up into the arch.

Finishing the pink balloon arch with link balloons

Step 4 - Fill out the bottom

The balloons on the poles stop a little above each base, so there's a gap where you can see the pole coming out. I took more clusters and added them to the bottom on both sides to fill that gap, so the arch looks full from the floor to the top instead of like two sticks with balloons on them.

Step 5 - Hang the link balloons in layers

Link balloons are small balloons tied end to end into strands, and on this arch they hang across the open center in loops. I attached the strands at the top of the arch one at a time and let each one fall into a scallop, layering them over each other and moving between the ladder and the floor so each loop hung at its own depth and the layers overlapped instead of lining up.

The finished breast cancer awareness balloon arch in Pleasant Hill

Less than 24 hours after the request, Contra Costa Country Club had the arch they asked for on their stage for the fundraiser, and the jobs already on our schedule that day went ahead as planned in San Jose. The club's coordinator told me he couldn't believe we pulled it off on such short notice, and that kind of last minute yes only works when the whole team takes care of every booking and not only the newest one.

We've done fundraisers around the Bay Area for years, and one client who has booked us for her fundraising event in Palo Alto two years running wrote in her Google review that "Karlie is always on time, professional, and will go above and beyond to make your vision come to life."

If you like this look, a balloon garland without the link balloons is a simpler version of the same arch. You can see another arch with link balloons in our backyard balloon arch in Danville, and more event work in our corporate event gallery.

Planning a balloon arch for a fundraiser or awareness event

Tell us the cause colors and the shades you want, and we'll build the color mix around them. Send a photo of the stage or wall where the arch will stand and tell us how we get in, because a long driveway or a flight of stairs changes how we load in. If your request is last minute, tell us your venue, event time and setup window first, since where and when tell us whether we can fit it around the installs already on our schedule.

Breast cancer awareness balloon arch FAQs

How much does a balloon arch cost?

Custom installs start at $650, and the price goes up with how large a setup you want, including the size, the colors and detail work like link balloons. See our custom balloon arches for more.

How far in advance should I book a balloon arch?

Book two to four weeks ahead if you can, which gives us time to hold your date and work out the design with you. If your event is sooner, reach out anyway, because this arch came together in less than 24 hours, and we'll tell you honestly whether a last minute request fits around the installs already on our schedule.

Can a balloon arch be made a day in advance?

Yes, and that's how we do every install. We always inflate at our studio and never on site, so for this arch someone on my team inflated and bagged every balloon and link balloon strand the night before, and I built it at the club the next morning. Our balloon questions page covers more about timing and setup.

How long does a balloon arch stay up?

It depends on whether it's indoors or outdoors. Outdoors we recommend planning on a couple of days, because the wind and sun break the balloons down, while indoors an arch can last a pretty long time, up to about three weeks and sometimes even a month. This one came down the same night because the fundraiser was a one day event.

What colors work for a breast cancer balloon arch?

Shades of pink are the usual choice. This one mixed fuchsia, pink, pale pink and white with a few metallic balloons, and the white strands kept the darker pinks from looking heavy.

Tell us about your event

I'm Karlie, and I run Poptastic Parties from our studio in Pleasanton. I'd love to help you plan a balloon arch or other balloon decor for your fundraiser, gala or awareness event anywhere in the entire SF Bay Area, including San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Oakland, San Ramon, Pleasanton, and so much more. Send us your date, your colors and a photo of the space, and we'll plan around it. You can meet me and our team or see the areas we serve.