Vanessa McClary, charter president of the local chapter of Kiwanis Club, said Balloon Fest will raise money for several of their projects and affiliates in an effort to benefit the Bloomington community.
“Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time,” McClary said, quoting the group’s mission statement.
She said Kiwanis supports programs that affect the Bloomington community, such as setting up libraries and Title I neighborhoods and working with the Boys and Girls Club.
McClary said this is the second year the event is being put on and that last year’s Balloon Fest was a huge success.
“I think people are fascinated by hot air balloons,” she said, mentioning that while she expected about 1,000 people to attend last year’s event, more than 8,000 people were in attendance.
She said several things have been added to the event that will kick off at 2 p.m. Friday.
Along with more than 20 hot air balloons, there will also be a car show, a cornhole tournament, live music and vendors selling food and merchandise.
Limited edition red and white water bottles with the shaped balloons from this year’s fest printed on the sides will be sold as well as baseball cards, both of which McClary said she hopes will be made annually to reflect the balloons at the event.
Tethered rides will cost $10 and be offered throughout the festival, she said.
The hot air balloons will also compete in a race of sorts, she said. An “X” will be placed in an open field out ahead of the balloons.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning, the pilots will fly out and try to drop a marker with their name on the “X.”
At the end of all the drops, the balloon with the most points for being closest to the “X” will win.
McClary said several costumed balloons will participate, including the Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe, a brand new pirate ship and Smoky the Bear, who will have a 70th birthday celebration during the weekend events.
The balloons will be brought in from around the country.
McClary said field access and parking will cost $15 per carload of people, and the only other thing people will have to pay for is food and merchandise.
“Everybody seems pretty excited,” McClary said.
She said she has received phone calls from people as far away as northern Illinois and Michigan planning to come down and make a weekend out of the event.
McClary said ticket ?revenue will support organizations such as Riley’s Children’s Hospital, the Boys and Girls Club.
It will also benefit Kiwanis’ own projects and student groups, such as K-kids for elementary school students, Key Club for high school students and Circle K for college students.
The event will also support the Bring Up Grades project that will encourage students to work hard in school, she said.
Currently, the program is offered at one of the 13 schools Kiwanis is partnered with, but McClary said she hopes to expand it.
McClary said she knows people will get great entertainment for their money.
“Come out, because it’s supporting a great cause,” she said.
