Lake Waveland celebrates Balloon Classic
The weather was absolutely perfect for a festival on the grounds at Lake Waveland on Saturday. The only problem was the first ever Hot Air Balloon Classic was supposed to leave the ground, one tethered balloon ride at a time.
Despite wind speeds that kept the balloons deflated, strewn across the ground for much of the afternoon, large crowds gathered to take part in the rest of the festivities.
Just off the lakefront, cornhole boards and horse shoes, as well as a mini-golf course, were set up for a mid-afternoon tournament which saw some fierce competition. An inflatable slide saw a constant loop of kids laughing on the way up and screaming on the way back down.
The Touch A Truck event, which had several engines from the Waveland Fire Department available for kids to crawl all over, was an absolute hit and provided a soundtrack of sirens all afternoon. The event was sponsored by the Waveland Parent Teachers Organization, which also sold concessions throughout the day to raise funds.
Competing with the wails of the emergency trucks was Copacetic Avenue, a jam band participating in the benefit for Cancer Benefit for Melissa Beeson. The band played some original tunes and covered crowd favorites throughout the evening. They also sold merchandise that a portion of the proceeds would go towards the benefit.
“We greatly appreciate everyone who came out last night to Lake Waveland for the benefit,” the band posted on their Facebook page. “It was a great success!”
Many festival-goers waited around as long as they could hoping to catch a ride in one of the balloons, but Midwest Balloon Rides balloon owner Brad Chism said it wouldn’t be safe.
“You really want the wind to be below eight knots. We have around 13 to 18 consistenly,” he said. Although the tethered rides were cancelled, they still decided to inflate them and give the crowd a show.
“We’ll fill them up and light them up real bright. We’ll have a nice night glow,” Chism said.
True to his word, battling the wind all the way, he and two other balloons teams lit up the night sky with their giant propane torches.
The remaining crowd ooh’ed and aah’ed for the nearly twenty minute display. With that, the sun set over the lake and the balloons deflated, capping off the first Hot Air Balloon Classic.
via – journalreview.com: News.