The Gristy is an award Twist & Shout gives each year to a balloon artist that demonstrates the values of the late David Grist. He was a mentor, friend, talented artist, and teacher from England. The core values he had were Inspiration, Innovation, Friendship, and Joy towards all his fellow artists. The award has been presented in the past to:

2007 - John Holmes

2005 - Ralph Dewey

2006 - Balloon HQ (Larry Moss, Mark Balzer and Sheena Beaverson)

2007 - John Holmes

2008 - Tom Myers

2009 - Royal Sorell

2010 - Buster Balloon Caldwell

2011 - "Stretch" Clendennen

2012 - Ken Stillman

2013 - Robbie Furman

2014 - Guido Verhoeff

2015 - Debbie Stevens

2016 - Alberto Nava

2017 -Guido Verhoeff

2018 - Graham Lee

2019 - Kathy Galloway Landess

2020 - Andrea Noel

2021 - Covid - virtual - none given

2022 - Covid - virtual - none given

2023 - Todd Neufeld

2024 - Dave Brenn

2025 - Patty Sorell - Award Speech