Can there be a 2019 Balloon Festival? you decide

[February 16, 2018] 

LINCOLN -- Over the last month, a group of community members have come together to discuss the future of the Lincoln Balloon Festival. These members from the community have gained, over numerous years, considerable experience in coordinating many facets within the festival and are very passionate about the success and future of the event. With this combined experience, they know how much work, time, dedication and coordination are involved in putting such an event together.

With the knowledge of what it takes to organize a large scale event such as the Balloon Festival, it was agreed by the group that it would be irresponsible to try and organize an event for 2018 with only six months left for planning. The event has traditionally been planned over the course of a year’s time with several paid employees and volunteers. Trying to scrape together the pieces necessary to make the event happen would simply do the event a disservice and not give it the attention that we feel the festival deserves.

The good news is that plans are underway to coordinate the festival to take place in August of 2019. Since the Chamber has closed its doors, a new organization will need to be created in the name of the festival. All new procedures will also need to be put into place to properly handle money and carry out all the necessary functions required to put the event together.

These necessary steps could take an unknown amount of time to be completed, even though a reasonable time table is being established. Networking and relationship building with supporting businesses within the community, will also be vital to the success and future of the festival.

The vision for the 2019 event is to bring the festival back in a way that brings the whole community back together. As history has proven, the success of the festival relies heavily on community support. Without the support of the community, this event that Logan County has come to love so deeply will simply not exist.

The community is urged to ask questions and to offer input; however, it is important to be patient in waiting for responses as a high volume of questions is expected and emails will be managed by volunteers.

For those interested in helping to make the 2019 Lincoln Balloon Fest a success, please email lincolnballoonfest@gmail. com.

[Text received from Douglas Luken]