The balloon drop at the DNC had more meaning than you might know
The gigantic balloon drop that capped off the Democratic National Convention wasn’t just to celebrate Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
As 100,000 red, white and blue balloons filled the United Center in Chicago on Thursday evening, the group of volunteer balloon artists who made the display weren’t thinking about politics - they were thinking about a person: Tommy DeLorenzo.
DeLorenzo, a Chicago-based balloon artist, was diagnosed with Stage 4 diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022. During the convention, he was fighting for his life at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
A team of 55 balloon artists from 18 states - and five from Canada - gathered in Chicago last week on their own dime, blowing up and tying thousands of balloons in DeLorenzo’s honor. With only a few weeks’ notice, the artists put their lives on pause to pitch in. They knew DeLorenzo would be watching the convention and would see their labor of balloon love, and he would understand they did it for him.
“Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for this community,” said DeLorenzo, 38, who started his balloon business, Balloons by Tommy, in his parents’ basement when he was 14. He now runs it with his husband, Scott DeLorenzo.
DeLorenzo is undergoing a stem cell transplant as his final effort to beat the disease.
“This is the fight for my life which I desperately want to win,” he told The Washington Post, noting that his sister, Debbie Strohm, is his donor. “Family, friends and even the balloon community registered as donors to help.”
At political conventions, one company usually handles organizing the balloon drop, and volunteers - typically local students - help blow up the balloons. This year, the contract went to Treb Heining, a well-known balloon artist who has organized the balloon drop at 14 conventions, including the Republican National Convention in July. He had the idea of joining forces with others in the industry to show support for DeLorenzo.
“I wanted to make this not my event but Tommy’s event. This is his city,” Heining said. “It was fitting to do that.”
Heining contacted other balloon artists, and word spread of his idea. Dozens pledged to come help.
“It just came together,” said Heining, who has known DeLorenzo since the early 1990s. “There was so much love, and I knew that it would give Tommy and Scott the boost they needed.”
Patty Sorell made her way from Peabody, Mass., to Chicago to offer her skills. She said she felt lucky to be there.
“We’re more colleagues than competitors,” she said of people in the balloon industry, which Sorell has been a part of for more than 35 years. “We all wanted to do something to help Tommy, to show him how much we love him.”
Sorell, who is a breast cancer survivor, felt a strong pull to participate.
“Tommy and his husband, Scott, are just icons in the industry,” Sorell said. “They’re full of love and hope and joy.”
The balloon professionals spent Aug. 15 and 16 inflating balloons and trading stories about DeLorenzo. While they worked, many of the volunteers wore green ribbon stickers with “Tommy” written on them.
They moved quickly, nearly getting through all the balloons - which were made of biodegradable latex - in one day.
“We are used to blowing and tying at breakneck speeds,” Sorell said, noting that they used a giant air compressor to inflate the balloons, before tying them by hand. “Hand-tying is faster than anything.”
Each volunteer blew up about 2,000 balloons.
Joette Giardina, a balloon coach based in Lakeland, Fla., said she was glad to be there for her dear friend. Giardina has known DeLorenzo for more than 12 years.
“His personality is just phenomenal, just how open he is, how giving he is,” Giardina said. “Tommy has inspired us all to continue to spread joy no matter the circumstances.”
“The balloon world has been with them for two years going through this emotional roller coaster, and it’s just been really neat to see how everyone has stepped up financially and taken time away from their businesses to be a part of this,” she continued, adding that people in the industry encouraged Scott DeLorenzo to start a GoFundMe so that they could contribute to Tommy DeLorenzo’s medical bills. Nearly $35,000 has poured in.
Many of the balloon volunteers went to visit DeLorenzo in the hospital.
“It meant the world,” said Giardina, who saw her friend twice during the week. “It was a very big, emotional week for everybody.”
DeLorenzo said he has been deeply gratified by the love from his fellow balloon artists.
“This experience solidifies what I already knew: I work in one of the best industries with some of the most intelligent and loving people anyone could find,” he said. “To all of those that put their lives on hold to support me and Scott, thank you. Thank you, thank you.”
Scott DeLorenzo said he is “so proud” to call Tommy his husband.
“When I say that he is one of the most loved people I know, it isn’t just for his balloons, but also for his magnetic spirit and joy of life,” he said.
The DeLorenzos watched the balloon drop together from the hospital.
“It was incredible to see,” Tommy DeLorenzo said. “I have always loved the magic of balloons.”
Related Content
Tim Walz’s upbringing in rural Nebraska seemed idyllic. Then came tragedy.
Jesse Jackson, slowed at 82, is still showing up and keeping hope alive
Their White House dreams on hold, Democratic hopefuls blanket the DNC
