Bubblefest makes its return to Discovery Cube Orange County

Bubblefest is back at Discovery Cube Orange County, but following a COVID-19 yearlong delay, it will look a little different when it returns Friday.

In the past, bubble artist Deni Yang featured more complicated sets with plants and lights everywhere.

“Normally we have a lot of machines and special effects equipment,but now it looks a lot cleaner,” Yang told City News Service. “So we changed the aesthetic of this show. We wanted to keep it streamlined for now because we didn’t know how long we were going to run the show.”

It was also not known how large an audience could be expected due to the pandemic and social distancing, Yang said.

“Everything was changing every week with different kinds of regulations,’’ Yang said as he was staging the annual production. “So now the stage is decorated with some Japanese art and other cool canvas art.”

The last time he staged the show it had seven lasers, so this time he will feature 11, Yang said. “If anything, we added a lot more bubbles, too,” Yang said.

There won’t be a kid zone in front of the stage for children to sit on the floor and enjoy the show this time, Yang said. But the stage will be closer to the audience.

It’s also up in the air if his sister, Melody, will be part of the act. `

“She just had a baby in January,” Yang said. “She’s really tempted to perform. But I’ll leave it up to her. We can always make a change really quickly.”

Yang thought he might be able to stage a Christmas show last year, but then the pandemic surged again. Now that his laser and bubble show is back on track, there’s some nerves, but that is typical, Yang said.

“I think I’m going to be relieved because the normalcy is coming back,” Yang said. “Every time I go to a new stage, I tend to get nervous before the first show, but once you get through that…after the first show, the ice is broken. You go back to an interactive-and-improve mode. It becomes natural.”

Yang has been entertaining audiences with his bubble and laser show for two decades, so taking time off during the pandemic was tough.

“I’m happy to see a stage,” he said. “After a year and a half and so many delays, I was like ‘finally, finally we’re back.’”

Yang said the bonus is that nothing could be more clean than bubbles. He uses mostly baby shampoo, dish detergent and antibacterial soap to make his bubbles.

“If you use too much dishwashing liquid, it becomes too strong,” Yang said. “My skin would dry up and I’d have to use Vaseline constantly after the day. But with baby shampoo, it’s more sensitive.”

The show runs four times a day through July 18 at Discovery Cube Orange County, 2500 N. Main Street, Santa Ana.

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