The Centralia City Council has passed a resolution allowing the Centralia Chamber of Commerce to hold this year’s Balloon Fest in Fairview Park, but the chamber has yet to make the final decision on where to hold the event. Executive Director Marcus Holland said that returning to Foundation Park remains an option but would require an investment from the chamber to resolve technical issues in the park.
“We came to the city as an alternate location, because once we knew there were some issues, we needed to find out what else we could do, and of course that led us to know that there are other things that are positive about Fairview Park,” Holland said. “It’s still an open negotiation with the Foundation. My board has to make some of those decisions as well, if it’s going to remain in Foundation Park knowing that there are going to be extra expenses, or in Fairview Park, knowing that alleviates some of the rentals that we have to bring to Foundation Park.”
Holland described what a Balloon Fest in Fairview Park might look like, noting that not every balloon would be able to set up in the park itself.
“When I map out the park, we can fit 35 balloons in the park, but safely, we’d like to say 20. The ball fields have a lot of fencing, lights and electricity that we want to avoid. If we reduce the number of balloons, it makes it a safer event. Plus, with it being a free event, we’re a little worried about vehicle traffic. Spreading out the balloons to take off from other places would also help with that.”
Holland expects a decision to be reached at the chamber of commerce board meeting on Tuesday, and an announcement to be made no later than Wednesday.
While the city council voted to allow the event in Fairview Park, Mayor Bryan Kuder noted that Balloon Fest is run by the chamber of commerce, not the city, and the city government does not have a say in the details of how Balloon Fest operates.
