Downtown Grand Rapids, MI is About to Be Littered With Helium Balloons

No, the circus isn't coming to town and it's too early for an ArtPrize stunt isn't it?

You'll no doubt be finding them for months to come! If you're wondering why there are used helium balloons littering the streets of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, here's the answer:

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It's a common way to honor a loved one lost and I believe the whole idea of a balloon release is to get a message directly to heaven but surely you must realize that balloon releases, whether celebratory or in memoriam, balloon releases are extremely bad for the environment-- right?!

Instead, perhaps try one of Michigan's many Telephones of the Wind or use the extra special Letters to Heaven Mailbox in Royal Oak?

Balloons in Downtown Grand Rapids

So what possible reason could there be for the multitude of empty used latex balloons that will soon be inescapable downtown?

A concert of course!

Legendary jam band/prog-rock quartet Phish are set to perform at Van Andel Arena this August for the first time since 1998.  Where the band goes Phish "Phans" go and they'll bring the scene along with them-- for better of worse.

When you think of fanbases like the Grateful Dead's "Deadheads" or Phish's Phans you think of some crusty hippie who follow the band from city to city in a minivan while cooking grilled cheese in exchange for concert tickets and let me tell you, you're not wrong.

However, with the jam band lot scene comes the "Nitrous Mafia", a group of shall we say vendors who bring tanks of nitrous oxide and sell colorful balloons filled with nitrous to fans walking to and from the concert venue.

Why do so many fans want balloons? To reach another plane of consciousness of course. I've heard it called "huffing" but unlike pain management at the dentist office these jam band fans are using balloons to take their experience to the next level.

I don't get it. All I know is it sends a chill through my spine whenever I hear the hissing of a nitrous tank while I'm leaving the venue after seeing my favorite band. It's not cool, it's no way to treat the city that's hosting the event, and some how it's in a legal gray area where it's not not illegal?

Of course these fans are fully fried after hours of partying and no one bothers to properly dispose of their used balloons into the nearest trash receptacle so expect to find latex balloons littered on the sidewalks near Van Andel Arena until next summer.

Hopefully the new downtown Acrisure Amphitheater will be ready for them by then!