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Local nonprofit groups can benefit from BalloonFest's success
Bruce Matlock
While the weather was a bit threatening at times, most of the balloons were able to take flight on Friday morning.
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Published: October 24, 2009
Across the field, Cloverleaf Elementary School students cheered and jumped every time the flame burst from the burners on Maury Sullivan's hot air balloon.
Much to the children's delight, Sullivan and some of the other pilots in town for this weekend's Carolina BalloonFest landed at the school Friday morning after their first flight in Statesville was cut short by low cloud ceilings and rain.
When the children were allowed to approach the balloon, their teachers told them about the festival and the young ones said they wanted to go.
"I think it's great," said Bill Meadows, whose flying school, Balloon Ascensions on Chipley Ford Road, started the National Balloon Rally. "It turned out to be a great thing for Statesville."
The students were the first to benefit from the festival, but it has a far reach in the community. Volunteers enjoy interacting with people, attendees get an up-close look at the massive balloons, and nonprofit groups have historically benefited from the profits.
Attendance to the annual event is a big deal for organizers for a number of reasons. A good crowd this weekend will mean the National Balloon Rally Charitable Event, the nonprofit that organizes the annual event, will be able to pay off the debt incurred from previous years, when bad weather hampered attendance, and also raise money for Dove House and Hospice and Palliative Care of Iredell, said Committee Chairman Charles Page.
It cost $75,000 to $100,000 to put the festival on, said Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Bradley.
"When you have a big event like this, you have a number of initial expenses that don't go away if it rains and we don't have the crowds," said Page. "We don't always break even."
Organizers want people to enjoy sipping on North Carolina wines, and children are sure to have a good time in the Kids Fun Zone. And the mass balloon ascension is always a hit, said Director of Spontaneous Events Kristie Darling.
The extra money raised has helped several community groups in the past, including the South Iredell High School Band Boosters and the Exchange/SCAN Child and Parenting Center of Iredell County.
"All contributions to the Hospice of Iredell help," said Patrice Reynolds, Hospice's director of Philanthropy and a member of the board of Carolina BalloonFest. "It certainly does help.It all adds up to benefit patient care"
That is the win-win for the community, Page said.
The committee selects these groups before the festival takes place based on the needs of the community, he said.
"We look for partners that are doing great things in the community," Page said. "These days all the nonprofits are suffering."
Page said the board has been lucky to have good partners and sponsors through the years.
Meadows said the festival started soliciting sponsorships after it was moved to the Statesville Airport.
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