Hired Laughing Llama for my daughters 7th birthday. We live in the north suburbs of Chicago. I was…read moreso happy with the beautiful face painting and the fun balloons while kiddos waited for their turn. Highly recommend to anyone considering face painting for their event!!

This company did a very great job at our Cookout event. We asked for facepainting and balloon art!…read moreGreat Job!!

We were greeted today by Mark McMahon. He explained his process, showed examples of his work in…read morevarious stages, an generally made us feel like friends. That doesn't often occur during my interactions with well-known artists. The illustrations of various historic events and scenic locations are fun to see, more so when you understand something of the techniques and materials used. It's also fun that most of the works are of a recognizable place or event.

I just LOVE the picture Marta drew for me!!!…read more Highly recommended. You pay for what you want. Black & white, or color. Full body, or just head & shoulders. Background, or no background. Frame, or no frame. Did I mention that I LOVE the drawing Marta did for me?

She did an amazing job on my moms cat I would go back for another picture She didn't even take that…read morelong in the drawing

This company was absolutely Awsome! They are great for private parties. They always make sure each…read morechild has a balloon everywhere we ran into them. We also used them for my moms surprise 60th at the Birchwood grill.

I CANNOT say enough about the Big Balloon Tycoon! He was SO professional and did AMAZING work!…read moreEveryone just LOVED him! He was punctual, VERY nice and dressed very well for the part! His balloon creations were simply INCREDIBLE! He even made the birthday boy a Buzz Lightyear! He went well above what we expected (even fixing broken balloons before he left!) We found him to be quite reasonable and WELL WORTH the money! We will DEFINITELY be calling again!

This place is wonderful. The classes are professional and fun for kids. I would rate it higher but…read moreit's also quite expensive. The christmas and summer shows are fun for the kids and really create an ensemble, though in the older kid shows there is a bit of a bias toward actors in company. Has some flaws, but overall good.

This review is based on my opinion & from my observations:…read more Steps seems to only focus on the kids in "company" &/or the ones taking multiple classes. Although kids who take one class can easily become that student whose interests are to get to that level; I don't understand this. And, no my child did not try out for company & not make it. I'm not disgruntled due to anything of that nature. There's no assistance to help guide your child's interests, or to get them onto the right "track"; I know this because I asked. If your child has found their passion and you need a little guidance, "there's no help here", was the message I heard loud & clear. If you try asking a question btw, plan on a 6 week turnaround. Made me feel very unimportant and that I had my child at the wrong place. Obtaining tickets for your child's yearly performance was ridiculous (website crashes/credit card error messages/rescheduling ticket purchase dates). Even if your on the website at the exact start time, you will not get a decent seat no matter what you do. And you'll pay $16 per person to attend btw. Don't even get me started on the multiple discussions I had to have, to get a costume that fit my child before picture day. The class teacher was pleasant and my child never complained about class. But my child couldn't tell me her name until after Christmas. Substitute teacher was class participant mother (unsure if any dance teaching background - again no communication) that simply confused my child with changes to the routine; this was the one time she did complain about class. Again my opinion is from my observations; there's a feeling of a very clicky atmosphere at the studio. The kids who go to school together know each other, but that seems to be it. Kinda like a "Dance Moms" feel to the atmosphere, but I did chat with a couple of VERY nice parents a few times over the past year. And it seems like the kids all got along well in the classes. Don't plan on sitting in a seat in the studio, while waiting for your child. The kids stuff is all over the tables & chairs while the kids are in class. Why they cannot be directed to place their belongings in a cubby? They do that at school. Or maybe put up some hooks or lockers? You could definitely use some lunch tables. Plan on doing something outside the studio during class & picking them up at the door. I've been to other studios and were easily blown away by their welcoming nature...treated as WAY more important then we've felt here. Definitely shop around before settling for the local dance school. And if Steps reads this review, I honestly hope you'll take this review to heart and make some positive changes. I'm not writing this to be malicious, I writing this to help other parents make informed decisions. These things definitely bothered me, and that's what reviews are for.

We had a really special and unique birthday party with Susie. Susie came to our house for an 11…read moreyear old birthday party. There were 14 girls at the party. We worked with Susie the week before the party on selecting a picture to paint. The birthday girl had fun picking the picture! Susie arrived early to set up the easels and the tools. Event kicked off on time and we caught up stragglers pretty easily. Susie had a great demeanor with the kids. She walked around the table helping the kiddos and addressing concerns on erroneous strokes. The kids were very engaged and loved the painting event. Plus cleanup was quick and easy. We were easily able to move on to lunch and cake.

Hubby and I just got back from walking around this fair. It was quite pleasant and they had a great…read moreselection of artists. We went to the Highland Park fair last weekend. It was A LOT more crowded and not laid out as spaciously as this one. The one thing HP has over this fair is that they have a smattering of bolder more unique artists. They have a few food booths and some of the stores were open if you wanted to grab a bite such as an ice cream or a sandwich. There was plenty of parking as well. Three stars is a good thing here. I enjoyed the day, and I felt there was a nice selection of artists. I even bought something!