Ralph Dewey

Ralph Dewey (born August 8, 1944), also known as Dewdrop the Clown, is an American balloon twister who is known as the "grandfather of all twisters".[1][2] He started twisting balloons in 1975, and in 1976 published his first book, Dewey's New Balloon Animals. Since then he has published 30 books (16 on the subject of balloon twisting), numerous videos and DVDs, and dozens of magazine articles.[3]

Ralph Dewey
Ralph Dewey
Born (1944-08-08) August 8, 1944
NationalityAmerican
Known forSculpture, Performance, Balloon modelling

Balloon and Clowning

As a leader in balloon twisting and gospel entertainment, Dewey helped found several organizations: Joey to the World, a gospel clown convention; DewJam Balloon Convention; and Kingdom Twisters. Joey to the World is one of the largest and oldest Gospel Clowning Conventions in the world,[4] first staged in 1994 and held in Houston, Texas. In 2003, he started presenting the Ralph Dewey Balloon Excellence Award, which has now become one of the highest honors in balloon-twisting.[3][5] Dewey is a staff writer for The Cross and the Clown magazine.[6] He has also written for Christian Conjurer, Balloon HQ, Clowning Around, and other similar publications.

David Grist, a pioneer in the balloon-twisting industry, died in 2005 after suffering a heart attack shortly before the annual Twist & Shout Convention. In honor of Grist's contributions to the field, the organizers of Twist & Shout, the biggest balloon twisting convention, instituted the "David Grist Memorial Award", the first award going to Ralph Dewey due to his contributions to the field of balloon twisting.[7][8]

Personal life

Dewey served in the US Air Force before joining Shell Chemicals as a non-degree engineer. He taught instrumentation at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, where he wrote several reference and training handbooks on instrumentation.[7]

Awards
  • Fellowship of Christian Magicians: 5 time recipient of the "Best Balloon Lecture"[7]
  • 2004 Millennium Jam he was awarded the "Lifetime of Caring" award"[7]
  • 2005 DiamonJam received a plaque celebrating "30 Years of Service to the Balloon Twisting industry"[7]
  • 2005 The David Grist Memorial World[7]

References
  1. "Learning to Twist". Cedar's Face Art and Balloons. Archived from the original on September 6, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  2. "Who you will meet". Tjam 2010. T. Myers Magic. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  3. "whoswho:Ralph Dewey". Balloon HQ. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  4. "Joey To The World Gospel Clown Convention" JTTW Convention website
  5. Magahern, Jimmy (January 12, 2006). "Super-talented "twisters" are blowing up all over the Valley". Phoenix News Times. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  6. "Staff writers". Clowning 4 Christ. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  7. Meeks, Flori (March 22, 2011). "Deer Park artist, author puts unique twist on his popular balloon creations". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  8. "FAQ". Twist & Shout 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
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