Event will fill the sky with color
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
For an event that is weather dependent, the fifth annual Waterford Balloonfest appears headed for a bright, beautiful summer weekend.
The weather forecast Friday through Sunday offer temperatures in the high 80s, plenty of sun – and a chance of rain and thunderstorms later in the day.
Winds are generally forecast between 5 and 10 mph, which means, it could be a perfect weekend for the event.
Balloonfest begins Friday at 4 p.m. with at least 21 scheduled balloons and numerous activities both on and off the grounds at Evergreen Elementary School, 817 W. Main St., Waterford.
Jim Little, the president of the board running the event, called the fifth Balloonfest the “golden five.”
“This is a big deal for us, being five years,” said Little, who owns Minuteman Press “Between the local public and social media, we already have confirmed 23,000 coming.”
Hot air ballooning is a hobby that draws in many different kinds. For example, John Trione, weather officer and safety officer for the event, began his adventure with hot air balloons 18 years ago.
“I took a ride and fell in love with it,” said Trione. “I was so taken by it, I asked the guy if he needed help and started crewing for him.”
Trione started the Lake Geneva Balloon Company in May 2002 – a name, he said, he picked out before he landed from that first flight. He will hit his 1,000th flight sometime later this summer.
Trione is one of the many scheduled balloons for the event – balloons that come from as close as Lake Geneva and Big Bend and from as far away as Iowa, Missouri and Texas.
Little – who will be able to be on the grounds for the first time this year, in spite of having helped plan the festival in the past – calls the whole process “exhausting, but good.”
“It ends on Sunday the 19th, and then on Monday, you start on next year,” he explained. About 100 volunteers make the weekend work.
Katy Engels of the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce said the festival gave back more than $10,000 to charities and non-profit organizations last year.
In addition to events scheduled to benefit the Aurora Lombardi Cancer Clinic, there will be a food and non-perishables drive Saturday for the Community Food Bank through Community United Methodist Church.
Events this year include tethered rides – where the hot air balloons are anchored and rise a set amount in the air – as well as an inflatables/family-themed entertainment area.
Balloons will also compete from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Saturday in an accuracy contest to see who can come closest to the target in dropping a marker.
Admission to the event is free, though parking is generally between $5 and $10. Little stressed that the major hot air balloon action will be early morning and late evening.
Trione said the festival offers the “wow factor.”
“You have just so many people gathered in one place,” he explained – and so many balloons. “Everyone’s wowed. Their eyes are so wide. It’s awesome.”
