You Think You've Got What it Takes to Be a Star? Then COMPETE at FLOAT!

Mar 8th – Mar 10th, 2024 | Chicago, IL

Looking to add some excitement to your FLOAT experience? Then consider entering one or more of our design competitions…you never know; you might end up being our Designer of the Year!

PLEASE NOTE

Competitions for FLOAT 2024 will be updated in Summer 2023. The information featured below is from our 2022 convention.

Competition Schedule

Saturday, January 22nd

8:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Entrance Decor

Theme – TBD

Entry Fee – $50 deposit – refunded when you compete

Put together a team of yourself and up to three (3) of your friends and colleagues and design an entrance decor treatment based on this year’s theme. While you can be as creative as you’d like, like any event you’re limited by size and time.

Four awards will be presented in this category (First Place, Second Place, Third Place and Delegates’ Choice)

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Table Centerpiece LIVE

Theme – TBD

Entry Fee – $25 deposit – refunded when you compete

You and one (1) assistant work crazily against the clock to create a custom table centerpiece based on the theme of the event. But seriously…..hurry! You’ve only got 90 minutes to create your entry…this is a LIVE centerpiece competition.

Four awards will be presented in this category (First Place, Second Place, Third Place and Delegates’ Choice)

6:00 PM to 2:00 AM
Sculpture Competition

Theme – TBD

Fee – $50 deposit – refunded when you compete

Where would we be without the sculpture competition? You and your team of up to ten (10) people total have seven hours to complete a design from start to finish in an 8′ by 8′ by 8′ space. Considered the biggest challenge at FLOAT, let’s see what you can come up with!

Awards will be presented for First Place, Second Place, Third Place and Delegates’ Choice.

Competition Schedule

Sunday, January 23rd

7:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Foil Design Competition

Theme – TBD

Fee – $50 deposit – refunded when you compete

​Competitors will have four hours to construct an artistic design made predominantly out of foil balloons. It can be a sculpture, an accent element or anything else as long as it’s made nearly all from foils.

​Awards will be presented for First Place, Second Place, Third Place and Delegates’ Choice

2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Organic Design Competition

Theme – TBD

Fee – $50 deposit – refunded when you compete

Competitors will have four hours to construct an artistic design made using the organic style of decor.

Awards will be presented for First Place, Second Place, Third Place and Delegates’ Choice

Competition Schedule

Wednesday, January 26th

12:00 PM
Table Centerpiece DEADLINE

Theme – TBD

Entry Fee – $10.00 per entry – multiple entries permitted

Imagine what kind of work you can come up with absolutely no time restriction…heck, you can start working on this event NOW! Just make sure it’s turned in no later than noon on Wednesday the 26th. Late entries will not be accepted.

Three awards will be presented in this category (First Place, Second Place, Third Place)

The FLOATee Awards

Deadline for entries January 7th, 2022

Theme – Varied
Entry Fee – $5.00 per submission per category

Our popular photo submission competition is back for 2022. This year’s FLOATee challenges will involve 32 different categories that you can enter, ranging from arches to private events to techniques. And remember, all of the proceeds from entry fees to the FLOATee Awards go into the FLOAT Scholarship program, which leads to FREE registrations to FLOAT 2024.

One winner will be announced in each category – Winners will be announced at FLOAT’s Opening Night ceremony.

Designer of the Year

In 2022, anyone hoping to be awarded the title of FLOAT’s Designer of the Year will have to enter at least three (3) of our five live designer competitions (entrance decor, live table centerpiece, sculpture, foil design and organic). You can pick whichever events you want to enter, and you can even enter more than three. Artists who enter more than three events will get the benefit of having their top three scores applied to the DOTY standings, with their lower score(s) being dropped.