Create Cañon City Balloon Classic set for May 24-26
Excitement is ascending as time for the inaugural Create Cañon City Balloon Classic draws near.
An aerial view of the Abbey campus from the hot air balloon, ‘Outlaw,’ during a practice flight April 17.
The three-day festival is set for May 24-26 at the Abbey campus and neighboring farm fields and at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey. Create Cañon City, a public/private partnership that completes projects of civic significance without using tax based public funding, is organizing the event with technical coordination by a Colorado Springs hot-air balloon operation.
There will be daytime launches each morning, an evening balloon glow, live music and a festival with more than 45 vendors.
Other activities include model rocket launches, skydiving demonstrations, arts and crafts, food vendors, live entertainment, children’s activities, raffles and more. Rides will not be offered to the public this year.
“The initial idea was we wanted balloons here to bring people outside of Fremont County into the county and see what we have to offer,” said George Daman, a volunteer for CCC. “Hopefully, they will move their busineese here, move their homes here and come recreate here.”
Daman said nine hot air balloons are contracted for the event, with 12 already contracted for the 2015 festival.
Bill Freda, director of CCC, said a movie will be produced during the event and a digital magazine will be available, as well as a published version so children can collect pilots’ signatures. Daman said people will be able to be near the balloons when they launch.
Larry Oddo of the Winery is releasing a wine to commemorate the inaugural event. “Ascension,” a 2010 limited-edition, award-winning merlot, will be available only during the Create Cañon City Balloon Classic. .
Ken Tadolini, lights the fire of his hot air balloon, ‘Outlaw,’ on April 17 before a practice flight above Cañon City.
The idea for a balloon festival was sparked when Daman heard that Colorado Springs Balloon Classic Inc., operators of the annual Labor Day Weekend Colorado Balloon Classic on Labor Day weekend in Colorado Springs, possibly was looking for a new home for the annual event. He suggested CCC host a smaller version of the event in Cañon City, which possibly could be its new permanent home. Freda said Colorado Springs event launches about 85 balloons.
On April 17, Daman took part in a test flight to evaluate the response of the 3,500 horses in the Department of Corrections’ wild horse program. He and a DOC employee and a chief balloon pilot drifted above Fremont County and landed the balloon on DOC property a few hundred yards from the horse pens. He said the test was a success.
Admission to the event is free to the public, with the Create Cañon City Balloon Classic’s funding coming through sponsorships and advertising.
“We have had a lot of enthusiasm in the community,” Daman said. “It’s been unbelievable.”
Balloons will begin inflating at 6 a.m. May 24 with the festival running until 8 p.m. A balloon glow that evening will feature the lit balloons and the entire Abbey lit, as well. Also that evening, a pilots reception will include the pilots, event sponsors and county VIPs, Daman said.
The event will run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 25 and from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. May 26. Balloon launches and the balloon glow are subject to weather.
For more information on the 2014 Create Cañon City Balloon Classic, call Create Cañon City at (855) 946-4222 or email cccinfo@createcanoncity.org. More information may be found on the Facebook page, “Create Cañon City Balloon Classic.”
Balloon Classic Live Music Line-up
May 24
Noon – 2 p.m. Fort Carson Brass Quintet. Fort Carson’s own 4th Infantry Division Band Brass Quintet will perform classical, patriotic, and jazz music.
2:30-4:30 p.m. The Inman Brothers Band. Founded in the late 70’s, the five-piece southern rock band is based in Colorado Springs.
5-6 p.m. Tom Hagerman of Devotchka. Tom is the magical, moody sound of the accordions and violins of Denver’s own Devotchka.
6:30-8 p.m. The Haunted Windchimes-headliner. The Haunted Windchimes sound draws from traditional folk and American roots music. The songs have a vintage quality, as if they might have been written yesterday or 75 years ago.
May 25
12:30-2 p.m. Southern Colorado Community Band. Under the direction of Mr. Mike Nolan, the band’s mission is to raise money through donations and award music scholarships to local high school students pursuing a degree in music.
2:30-5:30 p.m. Hammerstadt Fusion of the Soul. Hammerstadt is a four-piece electric ensemble dedicated to the performance of blues, rock, jazz and fusion music.
via – Canon City Daily Record.
