LINCOLN -- Sunshine and cool temperatures Saturday made for a perfect day for art and hot air balloon enthusiasts attending the Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival.
While only a handful of balloons were able to launch Friday night, on Saturday early morning festival goers were able to see the balloons fly into the Logan County Airport. One of those enjoying the view from the sky was Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder, who received a "great surprise" when he was asked early Saturday morning to help crew and then ride in the "Travelin Lite" balloon piloted by Max Mitchell, the only pilot who has flown in each of the balloon festival's 21 years.
The view of Lincoln from a hot air balloon is "beautiful," according to Snyder, who described the scenery as "green fields" and "lots of trees."
A few hours later, with his feet firmly planted on a street near Latham Park, Snyder helped cut the ribbon to open the festival. Art enthusiasts then filled the sidewalks to view what Art Festival Co-Coordinator, Marty Ahrends described as a diverse mixture of art -- including stained glass, pottery, photography and even spray paint art.
At Cindy and Kirby Pringle's "Dogtown Artworks" booth, art lovers were treated to humorous "dog-people photographs." The husband-and-wife team combines photos of their two dogs, Barney and Buster, with those of human models, creating "dog people."
The idea began seven years ago, when Cindy took a photo of Kirby Pringle dressed in his bathrobe. She then replaced his head in the photo, with a photo of the head of their dog, and made it into a greeting card.
"I looked better with a dog head, so we kept it up," he said. After selling hand-colored black and white photos for many years prior to that, "our business went to the dogs," Cindy said.
Many of the photos feature Buster, a white boxer, with various items in his mouth--like ice cream cones, wax lips, fish, and spaghetti. Buster, known by the name Earl in the Pringles' works, has "great self-control," according to Kirby, and doesn't eat the items used in the photographs.
The Pringles are also selling two books featuring the dogs, aimed at adults and children. In one book, Barney, their boxer-mix who portrays Pearl, has to work hard to overcome an addiction to her bone phone and iPaw.
Besides laughing over the adventures of Earl and Pearl, children attending the Art Festival can create something of their own at the Children's Art Fair. For a $5 fee, options include tie-dye, making a 3-D hot air balloon or creating a food art project.
The hot air balloon activities concluded Saturday, but the art fair continues Sunday.
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