Christine Whelan FEO, July 6, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 23
As of August 9, 2023, Fluffy the Clown will have been bringing smiles and joy to her community for 20 years.
Fort Erie-born, Monica Schmalz, the woman behind the red nose, shared some of her experiences as a clown, as a woman, and as a mom. She feels fortunate that she came from a very artistic family so being a clown and all that it entails comes naturally to her.
Monica, the Woman Behind Fluffy
“First and foremost, I could not be the entertainer that I am today without the support of my family and friends.” Explaining she sometimes misses her own family events to put on the purple wig for a community event. “Without them, I couldn’t be Fluffy.”
She continued, “Secondly, the Greater Fort Erie area has supported me through thick, and thin, COVID and the whole creepy clown nonsense.” Monica reminded me of the wave of clown mania years ago, connected to a movie when random people dressed up as clowns and ran around scaring people.
While other colleagues of Monica either didn’t last as clowns or slowed right down because of the craze, “The people of Fort Erie stood by me. They kept me at their events.”
She finished with such gratitude, “Fluffy isn’t Fluffy without this community continuing to have me out as a part of their celebrations.”
Monica shared a moment in her day job. Someone asked her if she gets nervous before an event. Monica replied, “I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years and there still is some nervousness before every event. Is there going to be a good turnout? Is the weather going to cooperate? Am I going to make mistakes?” She described not knowing as the reason for a little nervousness each time.
She spoke with a colleague years ago about that nervousness and he told her, “If you’re not nervous before an event, that’s a problem.”
We talked a bit about the experience after the nervousness when it was time to entertain. It’s a different mindset, like slipping into a different attitude. “It’s not that you’re a different person,” Monica explained, “It’s that it’s a different part of you.”
It’s also a stress reliever because it’s a time of expression and release. She explained how she felt the absence of that experience during the pandemic.
Reflecting On 20 Years
“I can’t tell you how many people I have spoken to over the years as Fluffy. I can tell you, I have put my clown face on a thousand times.” She added, “I did the math.”
Schmalz shared the story of when she felt “thrilled and honoured” to make a mini balloon bouquet for a resident of one of the long-term care facilities in Fort Erie who was two days short of her 100th birthday. “I didn’t mean to make her cry, but I did.” Tears of joy, of course.
Adults and children walk up to Monica in costume to say, “‘You know what, Fluffy? I don’t like clowns. But I like you.’ That makes my heart just explode.”
She explained the difference between Fluffy and some other clowns who might seem scary, “First of all, I’m a woman. Also, I’m a mom, so I know how to relate to the children.” We talked about the psychology of the colours she has chosen for her costume, starting with the soothing, light purple wig.
Monica is an industrial sewing machine operator by trade. “It’s not what I do now,” but the skills have come in handy when making and updating her costume, which she consciously makes sure has a soothing effect on her audience.
“There are different kinds of clowns. There are community event clowns. That’s what I do. Then there are circus clowns, which are totally different. There are rodeo clowns. And there are what are called caring clowns. Those are the clowns that go into hospitals, for example.”
Fluffy does visit long-term care facilities. “I love going to them every year. I have one coming up in Niagara Falls. I’ve been to the ones in Fort Erie. I’ve been to Garrison. I’ve been to Gilmore many, many times.” She added, “And you know what? Balloons are not just for young people.”
Fluffy also does Clown-O-Grams.
The Birth of a Clown
It started with a favour for a friend. “I made Halloween costumes for my friend’s band. They were all clowns. I made the five members of the band totally individualized clown costumes.” Then, sometime later, she got another call from the same friend, telling her that there was a clown cancellation for a local event, ending with, “I know you’ve got the costume. Would you mind dressing up and doing this for us?
“So, I did it. And that was almost 20 years ago.”
A few months later, in December, she got another call, asking if she would be the clown again for the following summer event that was being organized.
“I took Ballooning 101 and Ballooning 102,” which are online courses. and I did my first birthday party at the end of February the following year.
“It just took off from there.”
And the name? Two years before Fluffy the Clown was born, a friend of Monica’s called her Fluffy as a nickname. It just seemed right.
“You never know what’s going to happen in life,” Monica remarked. “All I did was a favour for a friend. And 20 years later, my heart still explodes when I get to do community events, birthday parties, and fundraisers.”
Monica talked about the clowns she has known and worked with over the years, adding the reasons for their no longer being around. “The thing with clowns, from what I’ve seen, clowns are older people. I started young for a clown, so I’ve seen my colleagues either move away, pass on, or retire.”
Clowning Is A Business
Schmalz says it’s like any other business. “I’ve developed this amazing entertainment family over the years.” They refer to and recommend each other. “We network just like any other business.”
She was always into theatre, as a kid and going through school. But when she went to university, “Believe it or not, my major was Business and my minor was Theatre,” without knowing that Fluffy was in her future.
“I thought I wanted to go the business route. The theatrical part of school was for balance.” She laughed lightly, “It took a while, but eventually it did all come together.” Even if it took doing a favour for a friend.
Monica the Mom
As a mother of two grown children in their 30s, Monica says their relationship with Fluffy and feelings about their mom being a clown has shifted over the years.
When Fluffy was first born, for the first couple of years, Monica’s daughter helped her. “She was a young teenager at the time. While I would do the balloon twisting, she would do the face painting and temporary tattoos. She was like my little assistant. We had a lot of fun. But, as time went on, and she grew fully into teenagehood, she had her own life going on and she retired.
“My son, when he was younger, had a mild fear of clowns. He would say, ‘Oh mom, don’t tell my friends you’re Fluffy the Clown. But then, when my entertaining job was paying for extras, like a new air conditioner and a TV in his room, suddenly, it was not so bad that mom’s a clown.”
And finally, “When Fluffy became well-known in the area, both kids became proud that their mom was Fluffy.” Adding gratefully, “It’s just such a wonderful thing, how supportive my kids are now.”
She shared a couple of priceless stories about life in their household — her kids, their friends, and at one point, after a sleepover, her son’s friend having to wake up to witness a fully-garbed clown in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone. Well, she was getting ready for an event and was still in ‘Mom mode’.
“The biggest thing I get out of being an entertainer is that amazing joy that I see on people’s faces. I don’t care if they’re four or ninety-four. It’s absolutely incredible.”
To learn more about Fluffy the Clown, you can check out the Facebook Page, Fluffy Monica Schmalz.
Photos Monica Schmalz via her Facebook Page
