Adirondack Balloon Festival grounded for 2020

GLENS FALLS | One of Warren County's two top events, the Adirondack Balloon festival, is canceled for 2020 due to public health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Balloon festival president Mark Donahue announced the cancellation Wednesday June 10. In his announcement, Donahue said the festival's board of directors was "disappointed" to declare the cancellation, believed to be the first-ever cancellation in the festival's 48-year history, although one fest in the late 1970s had its launches severely urtailed by bad weather. "We have a responsibility to make certain that social distancing occurs and we do not feel we could make that happen with the tens of thousands of people who attend our event," Donahue said. He said in his media statement that the festival's board of directors had held discussions with state and Federal Aviation Administration officials about holding the event prior to arriving at their decision. "The most important part in planning an event of this magnitude is safety — not only for our balloon pilots, but also for our spectators, law enforcement and public works employees, fire and rescue staff, vendors, volunteers, musical acts, and our landowners in the region," he said. "In addition, we felt it was inappropriate of us to ask local businesses for support when they are struggling to reopen or survive." The action has substantial repercussions, as the event draws the largest number of spectators of any event in the county, and is a major source of tourism income for local businesses — as well as generating substantial sales tax revenue for the county government. Two years ago, Donahue estimated that the 2019 edition of the week-long festival drew 150,000 people from across the U.S., and crowds on some occasions during the four-day event have been estimated at 30,000 spectators. The present size of gatherings allowed in New York State during the pandemic is 150 people, a tiny fraction of the balloon fest's average attendance. Warren County Tourism Committee Chairman Gene Merlino, town supervisor of Lake Luzerne, said he was shocked by the decision, but he understood why the festival's organizing committee made the decision to cancel. The lack of the balloon festival's 2020 edition means a loss of millions of dollars in local economic activity and tens of thousands of dollars in county tax revenue. "They have to book a lot of rooms and make a lot of plans months ahead of time," he said, noting the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just hours after the announcement, county Administrator Ryan Moore released a statement citing that the entire county Board of Supervisors was "saddened" by the decision. "The annual September balloon launches are a beloved event for our community, and we plan to discuss the future of the event with the festival's dedicated volunteers in the weeks to come." Although attempts to reach Donahue were unsuccessful as of June 15, county publicist Don Lehman said that a task force of county officials and area leaders would be working toward "salvaging" some balloon launches. There's likely to be ongoing discussion of a lot of possibilities," Lehman said. Queensbury Supervisor John Strough told the media that since the announcement, people have been talking about holding a substantially downsized ballooning event. Lake George Chamber of Commerce CEO Gina Mintzer said that the festival's cancellation for 2020 would have negative consequences through the county, causing a decrease in revenue for campgrounds, hotels, restaurants, motels and many, many other businesses — as well as reducing the county government's sales tax and occupancy tax revenue. "This (cancellation) is a big deal," she said, moments after hearing of the news. "The balloon festival is such a signature event for our region, and it's well-known across the nation."

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Adirondack Balloon Festival grounded for 2020

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