Event Entertainment Prices in Toronto, Act by Act

Updated November 13, 2026

Prices for event entertainment in Toronto, taken from our website-listed starting prices, begin at $200 for 1 hour of balloon twisting or a 45 minute character or mascot visit, $220 for 1.5 hours of face painting, $305 for a 1 hour magic show, $330 for a 45 minute bubble show and $350 for 5 minutes of the dry ice effect, or $550 for 15 minutes. Longer bookings have their own listed prices, shown act by act below. Second performers and extras are quoted with the booking, and final pricing depends on location, timing, size and customization.

Prices for DJs, live musicians and dancers are on our DJ and performance page, and children’s acts are on kids entertainment.

Those numbers are the easy part. The harder question is how many hours of each act to buy, and that is where most party budgets leak. Two acts at the same hourly rate can need completely different bookings, because one works quietly through a crowd while the other needs the room to sit down and watch. Sorting your shortlist by that difference is what keeps the spend honest.

Event Entertainment Prices at a Glance

Every act on our entertainment list falls into one of two shapes. Roaming acts, meaning face painting and balloon twisting, work one guest at a time across a long stretch while food, photos and speeches carry on around them. Set pieces, meaning a magic show or a bubble show, gather everyone into one spot and hold them there. Character and mascot appearances are a third shape again, a short scheduled reveal rather than a stretch of time.

That shape decides the duration you should be pricing, not the length of your party. For roaming acts you buy hours to match the number of children in the room. For set pieces you buy one solid slot and stop, because the room’s attention runs out well before your budget does. Dry ice is not bought in hours at all, it is bought in minutes and placed on a single beat.

Face Painting: 1.5 Hours, Sized by the Queue

Face painting is the most asked-about line in our entertainment prices. It is listed on our face painting page from $220 for 1.5 hours, which covers about 18 to 22 children who want full faces. Longer bookings are listed at $320 for 2.5 hours, $400 for 3.5 hours, $440 for 4 hours and $510 for 5 hours, and a second painter is added to the quote.

Placement matters as much as duration. A painter needs a table and chairs, which you provide, decent light and a spot guests pass rather than crowd, ideally to one side of the main room with a wall behind so the queue forms in a line instead of a ring. Keep that queue clear of the food tables and out of the sightline to your balloon decoration backdrop, or your photos fill up with the back of a lineup.

The Queue Arithmetic Worth Doing Before You Book

A full face takes four to six minutes, so one painter finishes roughly 12 to 15 children an hour. Plan one hour of painting for every 12 to 15 children who want full faces. A party of 12 five-year-olds fits easily inside the 1.5 hour booking, and a party of 25 needs about two hours with one painter. Count the children first, then book the hours that cover them.

Longer Single Painter Before a Second Painter

When the list is long, one painter for a longer window is usually the simpler booking. Two painters earn their place when everyone has to be painted inside a fixed window, such as before a show starts or at a corporate family day where families rotate through in one hour. A party of 25 can be done in about one hour with two painters, and the second painter is quoted with the booking.

Balloon Twisting: Buying the Restless Half Hour

Balloon twisting is listed from $200 for 1 hour. That hour covers about 15 to 20 quick designs, which suits a party of around 15 children, and a second twister for bigger groups is quoted with the booking. Longer bookings are listed at $300 for 2 hours, $420 for 3.5 hours and $580 for 5 hours. Twisting is the other roaming act, and its real job at a birthday party is the stretch nobody plans for, the twenty or thirty minutes between guests arriving and food appearing when the room has nothing to do.

Because the twister comes to the children rather than the reverse, this act tolerates an awkward floor plan better than anything else on the list. It works in a long narrow hall, a split-level space or a venue where a stage would block a fire exit. It also gives every child something to carry into the photos, which is worth remembering if you have booked a photo booth for the same event.

Magic Show: One Seated Show of 1 Hour

The magic show is listed from $305 for a 1 hour performance, with the birthday child as the star. Longer shows are listed at $405 for 2 hours, $495 for 3 hours, $505 for 3.5 hours and $520 for 4 hours; strolling magic and school shows are quoted with the booking. For a single room of children one show is the right purchase, because a magic show is a set piece that needs the room’s attention, and that attention holds for about one show.

Book the show, and spend the planning effort on the slot instead. A show needs seating on the floor or chairs, a clear performing area with the audience in front rather than around, and a moment when food is finished and cake has not yet arrived. Put it against a plain wall rather than a window, so nobody is squinting, and keep the service doors behind the audience instead of behind the performer.

Bubble Show: One Room, 45 Minutes

The bubble show is listed from $330 for a 45 minute performance, with giant bubbles, smoke-filled bubbles and a child-in-a-bubble finale. It is the clearest case of a set piece on the list, and one show is what most single-room parties need. Longer bookings are listed at $380 for 1.5 hours and $450 for 2 hours. Extended bubble play and festival stations, for an event with waves of guests, are quoted with the booking.

Bubbles need floor space and a forgiving surface. Ask the venue about the floor before you book, because a polished lobby turns slippery and a carpeted room needs a drop sheet. Ceiling height helps the large bubbles read properly, and a still room helps more, so keep the show away from doors that open to the street and away from any air vent blowing across the performing area.

Character and Mascot Appearances: Paying for the Reveal

Character and mascot appearances are listed from $200 for a visit of 45 minutes: the entrance, a meet-and-greet, a story or activity, the cake moment and photos. Mascots come with a handler who guides them through the crowd. Longer visits and second characters are quoted with the booking. The reveal is the moment the children remember, so the visit is built around it.

Time the slot to a beat that is already happening. Walking in just before cake, or just before a gift moment, gives you the entrance, the reaction, the photos and a natural exit inside the 45 minutes. Tell us where the entrance door is, whether there is a quiet room to prepare in, and who is bringing the cake out, so the arrival and the candles do not collide.

Dry Ice: One Effect, Placed on One Beat

The dry ice effect, a dense white cloud that stays at ankle height across the dance floor, is listed from $350 for 5 minutes and $550 for 15 minutes, including delivery, setup, operation and takedown by our team. It is a single visual moment and not an atmosphere: the cloud is dense for the length of a song and clears within a few minutes. Five minutes covers a first dance or a cake entrance; fifteen minutes covers a sequence, such as a first dance followed later by a grand entrance. Put it on a first dance, a parent dance or a reveal at a corporate celebration. Cold spark fountains are quoted by the number of units and firings.

The placement conversation is short but it matters. The effect sits low and travels along the floor, so it needs a flat area, a clear sightline from where the photographer is standing and no step for guests to find in low light. Venue approval comes first: we confirm that the venue allows dry ice, where the smoke detectors are and whether the fire panel needs attention, and our team operates the effect on the night.

What Moves a Quote Beyond the Listed Prices

Four things move entertainment prices off the listed starting prices. Location comes first, since travel outside the GTA is extra, though North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Ajax and Oshawa are all places we travel to. Timing comes second, because a Saturday afternoon in high season books differently from a weekday. Duration is third, and the number of performers is fourth, since two painters or a painter plus a twister is two bookings.

Bundling changes the answer too. If you are already booking decor or event extras for the same date, a single load-in and one setup window is simpler than three suppliers arriving at three times, and the running order can be built once instead of negotiated on the day. Ask us about our new-customer offer when you send the details, and send the venue name early so we can check access and effect rules.

Work out your shortlist by shape before you compare prices, and the duration question mostly answers itself. Count the children for the roaming acts, pick one clear slot for a show, schedule the character to a beat, and place dry ice on a single moment. Send the date, venue and guest count through our contact page and we will build a running order around them.

Frequently asked questions

How much does face painting cost for a Toronto party?

Face painting is listed from $220 for 1.5 hours, which covers about 18 to 22 children who want full faces. Longer bookings are listed at $320 for 2.5 hours, $400 for 3.5 hours, $440 for 4 hours and $510 for 5 hours. A second painter is added to the quote, and final pricing depends on location, timing and the number of children.

What does a balloon twister cost, and for how long?

Balloon twisting is listed from $200 for 1 hour. That hour covers about 15 to 20 quick designs, which suits a party of around 15 children. Longer bookings are listed at $300 for 2 hours, $420 for 3.5 hours and $580 for 5 hours. For 25 or more children, book a longer window or a second twister, which is quoted with the booking.

How long is a magic show, and what does it cost?

The magic show is listed from $305 for 1 hour, timed before the cake so the room is together. Longer shows are listed at $405 for 2 hours, $495 for 3 hours, $505 for 3.5 hours and $520 for 4 hours; strolling magic and school shows are quoted with the booking.

How long should a bubble show run?

The bubble show is listed from $330 for 45 minutes, and one show is the right purchase for one room and one audience. Longer bookings are listed at $380 for 1.5 hours and $450 for 2 hours. Extended bubble play and festival stations, for events where guests arrive in waves, are quoted with the booking.

How long is a character or mascot appearance?

Character and mascot appearances are listed from $200 for a visit of 45 minutes: the entrance, a meet-and-greet, a story or activity, the cake moment and photos. Mascots include a handler. Longer visits and second characters are quoted with the booking.

What does the dry ice effect cost?

The dancing-on-clouds dry ice effect is listed from $350 for 5 minutes and $550 for 15 minutes, including delivery, setup, operation and takedown by our team. The cloud is dense for the length of a song and clears within a few minutes, so it belongs on one beat, such as a first dance. We confirm that the venue allows it before the date is booked.

Do prices change outside Toronto?

Listed prices are starting prices for Toronto and the GTA, and travel outside the GTA is extra. Within the GTA we travel to North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Ajax and Oshawa. Location, timing, duration and the number of performers all affect the final quote.