The Logan County Alliance cuts the ribbon at the Lincoln Balloon Festival

[August 23, 2016]  LINCOLN - The phones are ringing off the hook; the office is packed with boxes of t-shirts, souvenirs, and supplies. Inflatable balloons and sponsor banners are showing up all over Lincoln. These are all signs the preparations are entering their final stages for the 2016 Lincoln Balloon Festival.

The Alliance invites the public to come out on Thursday, August 25th at 5:30 p.m. to help cut the ribbon to launch the Lincoln Balloon Festival. The ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the main festival gate off of Airport Road, at the Logan County Airport. In addition to a ribbon cut our local pilots and special shapeballoon, will inflate and fly (weather permitting) to give a preview of what to expect at the Festival on August 26th and 27th. This event kicks off a weekend of exciting fun filled activities at the Logan County Airport which includes over 30 beautiful hot air balloons launching several times throughout the weekend and glowing both Friday and Saturday evening.

The Lincoln Balloon Festival organizers want guests to have experiences,filled with vivid colors, exciting activities, wonderful smells, and great music. In addition they have added more activities for families including inflatables, a petting zoo, a rock climbing wall and carnival rides. We are very excited to announce Brushville will take the stage on Saturday August 27th starting at 8:30pm. We are also happy to announce that the early bands on Friday and Saturday have local ties to Lincoln. The lead is Mike Vargo husband of hometown girl Erin Eskra Vargo, his band Hamburg will play on Friday August 26th at 6:00 and has a set comprised of early Beatles hits guaranteed to keep you dancing and singing. To keep the energy going The Breakfast Club a high energy rock/dance 80’s tribute band will take the stage on Friday at 8:30. Mike Vargo’s other band Let Em In will take the stage on Saturday at 5:30. This band is a tribute to Paul McCartney, the show will include music spanning from The Beatles, Wings and Paul’s solo career.

Visitors during the day on Saturday can expect the gates open two hours earlier than previous years. Now opening at 11am on Saturday the Lincoln Balloon Festival will have a kite demonstration by Chicago Kite Company. Chicago Kite is the Midwest's premier kite store serving the Chicagoland area and beyond for over 24 years. They will be showcasing their sport kites during the day on Saturday and offering a family kite fly and kite making starting at 11:00 on Saturday.

The free park and ride service will be offered again to beat the $1 parking charge out at the Logan County Airport. The off-site parking will be at the Big R parking Lot on Woodlawn Road. Shuttle service will run Friday and Saturday afternoon from the Big R lot to the Logan County Airport. The shuttle service will run about every 15 minutes.
Tether balloon rides are being offered again this year from 4:30pm to 10pm on Friday and Saturday at the rate of $20 per adult and $15 per child.

Check out all the Lincoln Balloon Festival activities and a complete detailed schedule at www. lincolnillinois.com, or call the office at 217-735-2385.

[Cathy Wilhite, Logan County Alliance]