With just over six weeks to go before the Thurston Classic Hot Air Balloon Event lifts off, members of the event’s organizing committee are flying high.
“We can do it,” Joyce Stevens, one of the key organizers, said during a recent interview. “We have no extra — but we’re able to cover what we must cover in order to do it.”
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when funds were tight. Very tight. So tight, in fact, that members of the committee were concerned about the very future of the annual event that has filled the skies of Crawford County with hot air balloons on Father’s Day weekend for so long that babes who attended the first liftoff in the arms of their parents have reached legal drinking age.
When a plea went out for help in late January, the community responded with an outpouring of support that will allow 26 balloons to soar above the area’s rolling hills and vales.
That, according to Stevens, represents a small cutback in the number of pilots — but not enough to make a noticeable difference. During each of the past few years, for example, approximately 30 pilots have participated. “We’ve gone as high as 38,” she added with a chuckle, “but that was when we were younger.”
In another cost-cutting move, the Thursday Night Glow that traditionally kicks off the weekend extravaganza will return to its traditional roots.
During the glow, balloons remain tethered to the ground as their pilots ignite the propane burners used to heat the air inside the balloons during flight to illuminate the massive, reinforced nylon balloon envelopes from the inside. The average balloon is approximately 55 feet in diameter and towers about seven stories off the ground. This year’s glow is expected to feature eight to 10 balloons, the maximum number the field can accommodate.
In recent years, pilots have synchronized each balloon’s glow to music, thanks to the talents of a group from Canton, Ohio, that specializes in such things. This time around, committee chairman Ted Watts will narrate.
The committee is also doing some trimming in areas the public won’t see, such as cutting back on some of the meals served to participants and also on pilot gifts.
“We don’t think anything we’ve done will compromise the event,” Stevens said. “People contributed early — that was helpful.”
The 2009 Thurston Classic will begin at 9 p.m. on June 18 with a Night Glow and continue on June 19 and 20 at 6 p.m. and June 20 and 21 at 7 a.m.
All scheduled events take place at Allegheny College’s Robertson Athletic Complex on upper Park Avenue. Public transportation and free parking will be available. A light breakfast will be available during morning flyovers, and food and drinks will be available during evening liftoffs.
You can help
n To volunteer to help during the Classic, call Stevens at 336-4000 during business hours.
n Donations are always appreciated. Checks payable to Thurston Classic Corp. should be mailed to Watts & Pepicelli P.C., 916 Diamond Park, Meadville, Pa. 16335. The glow and all liftoffs and flyovers are free and open to the public, so figure out what a night at the movies, concert or theater performance would cost your family, add in the cost of theater snacks — and, of course, lots of fuel, parking and maybe an overnight stay, since you would probably have to travel long distances to find a comparably world-class event — and drop your check in the mail.
n Start saving now to purchase lots of official souvenirs immediately before and during the event. Commemorative pins, hats and an assortment of shirts are usually available beforehand at the historic Meadville Market House in downtown Meadville and always available throughout the event itself at Robertson Athletic Complex. The sale of official souvenirs and donations collected throughout the event provide a major source of funding for the committee.
Learn more
For information about the Thurston Classic, including the glorious history of ballooning in Crawford County, a complete schedule of 2009 events and photos of all the participating balloons, visit www.thurstonclassic.com.
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