Stilt Walker Entertains At County Fairs, Parades

Stilt Walker Entertains At County Fairs Parades FARM HOME recreation Bill Coleman found a fun way to make money in his spare time He walks on stilts at small town festivals and county fairs where he s known as Stretch The Nine Foot Clown     The Denver Colorado entrepreneur bought a pair of $800 handcrafted stilts 10 years ago after reading an article about them He knew how to use them from a previous job taping drywall He purchased a $1 000 Uncle Sam costume and joined the Colorado Clown Association     Since then Coleman has added dozens of toys costumes and gigs to an act that he takes on the road in a 1 000-mile radius from Denver His fees vary but his local stilt walking hourly fee starts at $150/hour with a $200 minimum      I started this when I was in my 40 s Coleman says I looked around and tried to create a niche with one-of-a-kind performances and attractions     Coleman doesn t just do stilts He also performs as a 10-ft dancing Christmas tree and he has 18-ft friendly giant parade puppets He has also revised and updated popular Emmett Kelly Clown routines and he fascinates babies to adults with his 14-ft solar powered bubble tower which comes in cow patriotic rainbow and other motifs      At events the 2 to 4-year olds got too wound up and start running into each other So we put the bubble machine on a cycle to adjust the time so they can kind of collect their senses Coleman says It s not just the kids that get wound up but the parents as well     Coleman prefers outdoor street entertainment to indoor stage performances He offers complete package entertainment that can be customized for specific events - whether it s advertising a business on 5-ft long pants he wears over his stilts or wrapping the bubble tower in pink for a Komen Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer fundraiser     He also brings up to 36 pairs of stilts to events for people to try      The stilts range from 9 to 24 inches off the ground Coleman explains     To set himself apart from other U S entertainers Coleman gleaned ideas from traveling to New Zealand Australia Ireland and other countries     When he first started Coleman crashed events for free to become better known and to learn how to entertain It s also helpful to join associations for clowns stilt walkers and entertainers     Coleman continually adds costumes toys and equipment to keep the act fresh He often wakes up in the middle of the night with ideas for new gags He markets his business through two websites and by sending 4 000 postcards four times a year to art festivals event associations corporations and chambers of commerce     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bill Stretch Coleman 930 S Decatur St Denver Colo 80219 ph 303 922-4655; stretch@stiltwalker com; www stiltwalker com; www bubbletower com

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