BalloonFest celebrates 25 years

FINDLAY — Flag City BalloonFest was supposed to be a one-time deal, says BalloonFest pilot relations chair Becky Conley.Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, this year promises to be spectacular. Back in 1999, the first BalloonFest was held as a way to celebrate the turn of the century."It was started by Dan Clinger," Conley said. Clinger then recruited his son, Phil, and "they 'voluntold' about 15 of their friends and family … It was a free family event," Conley said.In actuality, Clinger said his son obtained a balloon pilot's license "in about the mid-90s" after booking a hot-air balloon ride to propose to his wife. Phil Clinger would then help crew the balloon in competitions."He just fell in love with it," Dan said."He and I were talking after one of those events," Dan said. "I asked him, 'Phil, what could we do to bring something like this to Findlay?'"So they did some research and formed a committee. "And when I got the committee together, we started playing out our plans. We anticipated this to be a one year event to kind of celebrate the year 2000. We no more than finished the first event and every day said, 'We've got to do this every year," Dan said.Twenty-five years later, the Flag City BalloonFest is still going strong. The first year, there were 26 balloons and five food vendors. Now, there are 40 balloons and twenty-five vendors, events, attractions including balloon rides, helicopter rides, a car show, kids entertainment and much more all making Flag City BalloonFest the largest balloon event in Ohio. "Forty is a good number," said Conley. "To keep our costs down and be stewards of the money we're given, we felt that 40 (balloons) was probably our max." The details A free summer event, the fest kicks off at 6:30 p.m Friday, Aug. 8 at Emory Adams Park with an opening ceremony and balloon flight, but the night also promises plenty of food vendors, car show, a Kids' Zone, a petting zoo, helicopter rides and will culminate with a hot air balloon illumination. Friday is also veterans night — veterans in attendance can get free pizza and drinks.Then on Saturday and Sunday mornings, at around 7 a.m., there will be several competitive tasks for pilots. Dan reported the results of those tasks are all put into a computer that then assigns the pilots a score. At 11 a.m. Sunday, the winners of those tasks will be announced. Conley said any balloons, flying competitively or recreationally, getting off the ground is weather-dependent. A team of meteorologists will be up early watching any potential weather cells to ensure pilots and passengers will be safe flying.If balloons are able to fly, Conley said, it is helpful to the pilots for nearby residents to put a white sheet in their yards, meaning the pilots have permission to land on the sheet if necessary. "This is going to be a lot bigger," Conley said. The event did not start as big as it is now, but Dan is thrilled it is still going steady."One of the best parts of the event is the 'ooohs and ahhs' from the kids and adults that are out there watching the event," he said. "It's very exciting to be able to bring that to town."Though Dan is not still part of the organizing side of the fest, he is able to stand back and enjoy the fun. His son Phil is currently the pilot who flies the Visit Findlay balloon, sponsored by the Findlay Chamber of Commerce. More information about the balloons participating in the fest and the schedule of events can be found at flagcityballoonfest.com."It's a great experience and to sit back when it happens and to watch the reactions of everybody attending and to watch their faces light up, when we see the balloons go up … It's priceless. We do it for the smiles," Dan said.