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 Many folks saw this as a return to the old style
balloon festival weekend with the inclusion of a 5K Run, Oasis
Vendor Market, an art show put together by the Lincoln Arts
Institute, Up in Smoke Backyard Barbecue competition, Dock Dogs
competitions, two car shows, live music, lots of food and drink and
of course, hot air balloons with three lift off opportunities and
one unified glow event at the Lincoln Park District.
Over the next few days, Lincoln Daily News will bring you coverage
from most of these events starting today with coverage from the
first lift off on Friday night, a Saturday walk about downtown, and
the Up in Smoke competition.
On Friday evening, the balloon events kicked off at
the Comfort Inn in Lincoln with a pilots meeting. Organizer and
local pilot Seth Goodman led the meeting with input from several
others who were involved with making sure that first evening in
Lincoln would be a safe and pleasant experience for the more than 30
pilots in attendance.
Goodman welcomed all the pilots and thanked them for coming. He
talked about the lift off locations, fueling opportunities for the
balloons, a brunch that would be served at the Oasis and other
social events designed specifically for the pilots.
He encouraged all the pilots to get out into the community during
their downtime and enjoy the activities at the Oasis as well as
downtown.
Of course a pilots meeting has to address weather conditions. On
Friday evening winds were calmer on ground level, which is almost
always the case. Above 300 feet and up to 2,500 feet the winds were
going to be picking up throughout the evening, topping out at 11
knots (12.65 miles per hour) as sunset approached.
Goodman told the group that flight at those wind speeds would be at
pilot discretion and any pilot who chose not to fly would be
respected for their decision. One pilot asked if it would be
acceptable to inflate but not fly. Goodman said yes that would be
perfectly acceptable. He said, in fact, the people who come to watch
would enjoy an opportunity to go out and get a little closer to the
balloons if they were going to stay grounded. Again, Goodman said it
was up to the pilot what he did.
Alice Roate with the Logan County Tourism Bureau welcomed the pilots
to Lincoln. Pilots received gift bags that had been put together in
cooperation by the Bureau and downtown businesses.
With the concerns for wind speeds as the evening
progressed, the ribbon cutting hosted by Lincoln Daily News moved
along quickly. Roate and Mayor Tracy Welch assisted with the
cutting.
Welch spoke briefly thanking all the pilots for
coming to Lincoln and inviting them to enjoy all that the weekend
had to offer.
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 A large round of applause was given for Goodman
during the cut as it was noted that when the Lincoln Balloon
Festival was lost a few years ago it was a sad day for many people.
Goodman had taken on the huge chore of trying to revive the event
and had done so successfully with the help of several volunteers.
When Goodman spoke, he asked for a round of applause for all the
pilots, their crews, and everyone who was contributing to making the
weekend a good experience for everyone.
Goodman also acknowledged Tina Simpson who stood
beside him and the Comfort Inn Motel. He said that Simpson had
worked to make the accommodations for the pilots at the motel the
best the motel had to offer, and he appreciated the welcoming
attitude of Simpson and staff.
Then it was time to snip the ribbon and as the old saying goes “get
on with the show.”
Pilots headed to their vehicles and disbursed to their appointments
at five lift off locations in Lincoln.
LDN chose to follow the pilots headed to the residence of Kevin and
Peggy Bateman, knowing it would make a picturesque setting for the
first lift off coverage of 2021. It did not disappoint.
The balloons lifting off at the Bateman’s included Dave Boesdorfer
with Memories in Flight, Pat Brouillet with Envy, Dean Carlton and
his dog Wagz, Danny Gebhart in Yellow Cloud, Kathy Reineke in
Sunsational and Scott Wooge with his balloon Eclipse. [Nila
Smith] |
