Sky full only one day of festival
The annual River Bend Balloon Fest took place September 3-7 in Bath. Unfortunately, cool temperatures, high winds, and rain prevented pilots from launching several flights. However, despite the El Niño weather pattern’s best efforts to keep things grounded, pilots still completed an evening candle glow and a morning flight on Monday, Sept. 7.
Pilot Coordinator Jennifer O’Donnell told River Valley Sun News it was a “rough year for all balloon festivals,” with Presque Isle, Sussex, and Bath each launching only a single flight.
“It’s unfortunate, but having the other activities such as the Family Fun Day at the fairgrounds, the market, the car show, and the Trevors Goodine Lumberjack Competition, helped people still enjoy the festival even though we couldn’t launch balloons the way we wanted to.”
O’Donnell shared that the pilots and volunteers “put in a valiant effort,” including trying to launch from multiple sites, but the winds remained too high for the balloons to take flight safely. Despite the weather, the other festival events drew large crowds, especially the fireworks show, which closed out the festival on Monday night.
“[It was] a lovely display of fireworks,” said O’Donnell. “I was very impressed with the length and quality of the show.”
Approximately 100 volunteers, including flight crew, committee members, and assistants at each event, helped to make this year’s festival a success.
“Everyone is so dedicated to investing their time and effort into providing activities for community members of all ages to enjoy,” said O’Donnell.
O’Donnell also spoke highly of the festival attendance numbers.
“I’m always so impressed with the community involvement,” said O’Donnell. “When we have people come from other communities and festivals such as Sussex and Presque Isle, they always comment on how community-minded our festival is.”
O’Donnell said she feels River Bend Fest excels at capturing the “small town feel” and exudes a family atmosphere that the pilots, who hail from various places around the world, always comment on.
“I think that’s something that should be celebrated and we should be proud of,” said O’Donnell. No amount of wind or rain can diminish it.
