Photo gallery: Thousands gathered for Balloons over the Bluegrass

Published 5:15 pm Friday, August 9, 2024

By Fiona Morgan

The first hot air balloon festival in five years was a resounding success, with thousands in attendance Sunday at the Danville Boyle County Airport.

Balloons over the Bluegrass was organized by the airport in celebration of their 90th anniversary.

The event, previously called the Great American Balloon Race, last happened in 2018 before its hiatus due to Covid-19 and other factors. It historically took place on the same weekend as Danville’s Great American Brass Band Festival.

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Jake Bell, who is on the airport board and helped organize the event, said they estimated there were between 5,000 and 6,000 people in attendance, which was about double what they expected.

“I don’t believe any of us expected that many people to show up, but we were glad they did,” Bell said. “Overall, we felt this year’s event was a success and we were thrilled to welcome everyone out to the airport for the first hot air balloon event in Danville in five years.”

The event had inflatables for kids, food vendors, music by the band Mercury 7, and one tethered hot air balloon that gave 500 rides. It gave rides until well after dark to make sure everyone in line received a ride.

Despite the huge popularity, not everything went according to plan. The event was scheduled to happen Friday, August 2, but it had to be moved to the rain date of August 4 because of inclement weather.

Bell said that in past years when the event was moved to the rain date, attendance would be low; but that definitely wasn’t the case this year.

Due to the huge number of people who attended, Bell said that traffic was more of an issue than they anticipated. With almost 2,000 cars parked on site, many had to wait a long time to enter either of two entrance spots to the airport.

“We know traffic, particularly entering the event, was a challenge,” Bell said “We had what we felt was a robust traffic management plan in place with local law enforcement. That plan, unfortunately, wasn’t implemented exactly as we expected, and it will be thoroughly debriefed so it can be improved next time.”

Many of the lines for food and the tethered balloon ride were also long, which Bell said they hope to rectify if they do the event again next year.

“We also know that if the event continues to draw this many people that we will need more food vendors, shorter lines, and even an additional tethered ride balloon,” Bell said.

There were 11 balloons at the event. They took off after 7:30 p.m. and flew west right into the sunset. Some of the flights were short, due to the direction they could travel.

“The winds were carrying the balloons west toward the Knobs, and that direction offers the fewest landing sites for hot air balloons,” Bell said. “That’s why the pilots elected to sit back down at the first spot they could find. Had the winds taken them practically any other direction, they would have flown longer.”

Bell said the airport hopes to continue the event and make it even better for next year, with better traffic control, shorter lines, more food and more balloons.

“Seeing so many photos of kids watching the balloons with smiles on their faces is why we do this,” Bell said. “We’d like to thank everyone who came out, endured the heat, and demonstrated a little patience, and we’d like to thank our incredible sponsors for helping us keep this event affordable for everyone. Hot air balloons have been a part of summers in Boyle County for 35 years, and we were thrilled to get to bring them back.”

 

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