By Angela Hansen
What do you call a drawing of a clown?
A comedy sketch!
Why don’t lions eat clowns?
Because they taste funny!
Why are clowns always on their feet?
Because they do stand up comedy!
Getting a laugh from a crowd can be tough work these days; sometimes even smiles are hard to come by, but being a professional clown helps. Leslie Bootsma is passionate about clowning around. “It keeps me young. I love to laugh and I think the world needs to laugh more.”
Leslie affectionately recalls, “I was the shyest kid in the world, but my dad loved clowns.” While working for Albertsons in southern California, Leslie worked at an event on March Air Base directing scores of children waiting to meet clowns. It was so fun she decided to become a clown! After learning about make up, costuming, and etiquette from other clowns, Leslie’s persona “Flutter Butter” was born. “Clowns have to stay in character the entire time they are in costume. You don’t want anyone to see you only half clown, so you have to stay in character, even when you’re driving. When you’re dressed, you’re not yourself. You’re someone else and you take on that personality.”
Flutter Butter is an 8 year old girl who loves wearing colorful clothes and crazy accessories topped with one of her 400 silly hats! Her favorite way to clown around is painting faces, but she can also make balloon animals, tell jokes, and perform magic tricks. Clowns like Flutter Butter share smiles whenever she can at birthday parties, parades, grand openings, care centers for those with disabilities, and weddings!
When asked about her most memorable experience as a clown, Leslie paused with a grin, then laughingly said, “We had to clown, or face paint, at a beautiful resort for nudist community. At first you kind of didn’t know where to look. The first week we only did adults and the next week we only did the children. Do you know what most of the women wanted? Clothes. Bustiers. Vests. Halter tops. That was kind of different.”
Whether she’s painting tiny cheeks or elaborate full face designs, Flutter Butter loves making others happy. “This is about the joy of life. When I face paint, I won’t let the child see until I’m finished. When I finally give them a mirror, they just light up! When I go to senior homes, they just light up! Seeing the joy in their faces is everything.” Leslie concludes, “You gotta give back. In fact, that’s what my clowning is: giving back.” It’s about the joy. We probably get more than they do, but hopefully, they feel the joy.”
Leslie and her husband Symon, moved to Weiser after they drove through and thought it was “the most beautiful town in the world. When we moved from California, we moved to the big city and we were so excited to be in the city. We lived 25 minutes from everything and the town was so small, even the bar couldn’t stay open. Now we’re 5 minutes from the church, grocery store, hospital, and Weiser just has everything.” Leslie Bootsma can be contacted at 951-306-6306.
