Balloon Artist Brings Rainbows and Joy to Her Philadelphia Neighborhood As Residents Stay Home

Jace Florescio, who owns Florescio Events, has been installing colorful balloon displays on the railings outside of homes in the area with a goal of bringing cheer to residents in the neighborhood

Photo: Jacylin Florescio

Somewhere over the rainbow in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, a local ballon artist and event planner is bringing joy to residents stuck at home.

Thirty-three year-old Jace Florescio, who owns Florescio Events, has been installing colorful balloon displays on the railings outside of homes.

“The responses have been so overwhelming,” Florescio tells PEOPLE. “The community responded so well to the rainbow balloon installations.” She’s also been sharing her creations on Instagram (below) so those far beyond her neighborhood can enjoy her work.

Pennsylvania, like most of the country, is under a stay-at-home order in order to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Florescio, a Philadelphia resident for the past 5 years, started her balloon business in March 2019, working her way up from birthday parties and grand openings to major brands.

“When I started posting our balloon installations on social media, we were getting clients from Anthropologie, Jim Beam, and Dilworth Park in front of City Hall in Philadelphia,” she says.

Now, with COVID-19 bringing businesses and many aspects of everyday life to a halt, Florescio Events has hit a rough patch.

“At the very start of it, all of our events and parties were canceled or postponed until the end of the year. But since we started the rainbow balloon installations, it’s the busiest we’ve ever been,” she says.

Florescio came up with the idea for her public displays after she read an article about kids who were drawing rainbows and posting them in their windows as a scavenger hunt for other children in their neighborhoods.

“I thought it was such a cute idea for kids as they were on their bikes, scooters, or walking with their parents,” she shares. “So naturally, I did the same with my boys, and we drew rainbows and placed them in our front windows.”

The craft sparked an idea. She was looking at her balloon supply and realized that she had all of the colors of the rainbow available, so she created her first display on her own front stoop and posted it to social media. Soon, another neighborhood mom reached out and it started a chain reaction.

“I created the #ColoringPhillyWithHope hashtag, to represent hope during this time of uncertainty in our city,” says Florescio. It’s also a way for anyone to find all the rainbows on Instagram.

Her installations are all no contact and use balloons that are 100% bio-degradable, eco-friendly and made with organic latex.

As for the best reaction to her kind and creative efforts, Florescio says it was for a custom stoop installation for a young girl’s 7th birthday.

“There was a mom who recorded her daughter’s reaction and sent the video to me,” she says. “As her daughter was walking up the street, she immediately ran to the balloon install and sat right next to it with her birthday crown on. It was best reaction and just pure joy. It made me smile so big!”

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