 The Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce is continuing the old
favorite traditions and new traditions that have made this event No.
1 in Logan County. This weekend hot air balloons will fill Logan
County skies, and fine art and crafts will fill the parks, along
with delicious food sales lining Lincoln's downtown streets.
Entertainment will be provided by live bands in Scully Park, The Art
of Wine tent and at the Logan County Airport.With each new year,
the organizers of the festival want to wow guests with vivid colors,
exciting activities, wonderful smells, beautiful art, great music
and much more. This year is no different -- back by popular demand
is "Up in Smoke on the Square," a Kansas City Barbecue
Society-sanctioned cook-off event that will take place in historic
downtown Lincoln on Friday and Saturday during the festival. The
barbecue contest will bring over 45 competitors from all over the
country to the community to compete. Barbecue will also be available
for purchase from vendors.
In addition to the culinary experience of the KCBS event, patrons
of the festival will enjoy giant kite demonstrations and a bags
tournament out at the airport on Saturday.
Free transportation around downtown and around town to the
different venues were all first-timers for the 2011 festival and are
being brought back for the 2012 event.
The free parking that was new last year was very popular, and
many festival-goers took advantage of this great service to beat the
$1 parking charge out at the Logan County Airport. The off-site
parking will again be at the Burger King parking lot on Woodlawn
Road. Shuttle service will run Friday and Saturday afternoon from
the Burger King lot to downtown Lincoln and then to the Logan County
Airport. The shuttle will run about every 15 minutes to each of the
three locations.
In addition to the shuttle service, the chamber is again offering
a free trolley service around downtown Lincoln. The trolleys will
make regular stops at the corner of Pulaski and Chicago, where the
shuttles will drop off and pick up patrons throughout the day on
Saturday. The trolleys will run on Saturday and Sunday during
high-traffic times downtown, picking up guests all along the
downtown route.
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On Thursday at 5:30 p.m. the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of
Commerce is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the main festival
gate, off Airport Road at the Logan County Airport, to honor the
39th anniversary of the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival. In addition
to the ribbon-cut, local balloon pilots will fly to give a preview
of what to expect at the weekend festival.
Immediately following the ribbon-cut, the community is invited to
the 14th annual kickoff party at Maple Ridge Care Centre, where they
serve a fabulous dinner and entertain with live music until 8:30
p.m.
This event leads into the weekend of exciting, fun-filled
activities at the Logan County Airport, which includes 33 beautiful
hot air balloons launching several times throughout the weekend and
glowing both Friday and Saturday evening. The festival will feature
new live entertainment including Still Kick'n on Friday night, Big
Daddy Jasper and Kung Fu Dynamite on Saturday night; tethered
balloon rides; and family games and activities.
The festival parade from downtown to the airport will start the
weekend on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
On Saturday at 9 a.m., the chamber is hosting another ribbon-cut
for the Fine Art Fair and all other downtown portions of the weekend
festivities. This event will take place on the corner of Pekin and
Kickapoo streets.
The annual Fine Art Fair has grown into an entire downtown
festival, including The Art of Wine, which is an Illinois
wine-tasting event, along with a craft fair, flea market and the
KCBS-sanctioned competition. The downtown portion of the festival
will also feature games and activities for families.
Sunday there will be an antique car show around the square and
the 1800s Craft Fair at Postville Courthouse.
Check out all the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival activities on a
complete, detailed
schedule at
www.lincolnillinois.com.
[Text from file received from
the Lincoln/Logan County
Chamber of Commerce] |
