Great weather brought out a big crowd to Balloon Fest on Saturday night.
Those in attendance at Foundation Park were entertained by a Balloon Glow and prior to that the lift-off of the POW/MIA balloon and a second balloon with a large US flag hanging from the basket to honor veterans.
Centralia Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marcus Holland says it’s been a great weekend.
Holland says, “We estimated 10,000 people on Friday, we were looking at the numbers and selling out of our wristbands, we know that we had about 20,000 people on Saturday. We had a great, full park, we had a great Balloon Glow with all of the balloons in the park glowing and flickering, so many great photos that we’ve seen on social media, the vendors are happy, (and) we filled our parking lot on the north side. Basically, we filled the parking lot, sold out our wristbands…what else can we say? It was a great event and we appreciate everybody coming out. We can’t do this without our volunteers, we can’t do this without our sponsors, and we do appreciate everybody who contributes to this event.”
The morning balloon flight on Sunday had to be canceled because of challenging wind conditions after the balloons had arrived in Foundation Park for a hopeful lift-off.
Sunday is Family Fun Day in Foundation Park. There is no admission fee. Special activities include the cardboard boat races. Building begins at noon and the races across Catfish Pond for the pilots are scheduled for two and the public at three. There will be a Class Car and Motorcycle Show. Registration is at Centralia High School from noon to one. The entries will then parade into the park from Pleasant Street at one. There will also be Bouncy Houses and other games and prizes. The 2023 Balloon Fest will be capped off with the Metro East Blues Band Eastsiders Review Band from four to six and then the final balloon lift-off for local pilots around six Sunday night.
