Courtesy Adirondack Balloon Festival
By Paul Post
Planning for the golden anniversary of Warren County’s most popular fall attraction is well under way, already providing a major economic boost to the region’s hospitality industry, highlighted by hundreds of advance hotel room bookings.
This year’s Adirondack Balloon Festival, slated for Sept. 21-24, will have the most special-shaped balloons in its 50-year history, joined by nearly 100 other pilots and 150,000 visitors from throughout the U.S. and overseas, according to organizers.
“I wish we were able to afford a true economic impact study because I’m sure it would be in the millions of dollars, especially with a good weather weekend,” said Mark Donahue, festival board president. “Right now we’ve booked rooms in 12 different hotels. We need 400 to 500 hotel rooms this year for all our special guests.”
The all-volunteer run, nonprofit festival operates on a roughly $200,000 budget, only a fraction of the money spent by large commercial ballooning events in Albuquerque, N.M., ($10 million) and Reno, Nev., ($2.5 million), which have paid professional staff.
The Adirondack festival was founded by the late Walter and Joan Grishkot with help from veteran balloon pilot John Marsden of Manchester, Vt. It has remained true to their goal of holding a free, family-oriented event, which has entertained generations of people during the past five decades.
About a quarter ($50,000) of the festival’s funding comes from Warren County in the form of occupancy tax revenue. However, organizers are hopeful for extra support from the local business community and residents in order to host the best festival possible with a variety of special activities surrounding this year’s milestone event.
“When you do a program ad with us now it also goes on our website,” Donahue said. “That’s invaluable. Last year the county Tourism Department and festival websites and Facebook pages had 30 million hits in one day. Not many events can say that.”
Businesses and individuals may also sponsor a balloon, and online donations may be made online at www.adirondackballoonfest.org.
Warren County derives a significant financial benefit from the festival as parking revenue and RV and charter bus pass sales goes into its coffers.
Although most activities take place at Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport in Queensbury, balloon crews and out-of-town visitors fill hotel rooms and patronize restaurants throughout the area, generating significant county and state sales tax as well.
“Many of our member hotels utilize the balloon festival in their marketing for the fall,” said Amanda Metzger, Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce marketing director. “It’s a great benefit to our member accommodations, retailers, restaurants and other businesses because when people aren’t at the festival they’re enjoying the rest of what our region has to offer.
“September is such a beautiful time to visit because it’s usually still comfortable outside, so many warm-weather activities are still available while there may be some fall colors just starting to show. We are grateful for those who organize the balloon festival and congratulate them on half-a-century of flight.”
One of the festival’s most overlooked aspects is the money it raises for local service organizations and non-profit agencies, whose booths at the airport are visited by crowds numbering in the tens of thousands.
“This festival has generated very close to a $1 million for nonprofits in our community over the years,” Donahue said. “No other event can say that. That’s all money that’s staying here, enhancing quality of life in our region. That’s outstanding.”
Zonta’s giant craft fair raises funds for scholarships and service projects with an emphasis on breast cancer prevention and education.
The Open Door Mission, which helps homeless and underprivileged persons, holds a large fund-raising breakfast at the airport on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
“We do make some revenue, that’s been a huge blessing for us as an organization, but the Balloon Breakfast in my mind is all about the relationships we’ve built with the very incredible individuals who run the event and the volunteers we’ve developed over the years,” said Jamie Munyon, the Mission’s executive director. “One of our staff members came to us after serving as a breakfast volunteer. The festival is so incredibly unique to our area. For us, I think it’s more about exposure.
“That’s the big piece for our organization. Quite often people don’t know what we do in the community, so it’s a chance to familiarize them with all that we do.”
EDC Warren County Executive Director Jim Siplon said, “Every place aspires to have iconic experiences and events that help define and create lasting connections with its community and welcome visitors. In our area, the Adirondack Balloon Festival is, and has been for generations, that unique and meaningful event that creates lasting positive connections for so many.
“In economic terms, the event is enormous,” he said. “It not only acts as a conduit for thousands of unique visitors, but creates a connection that reliably brings back repeat visitors. It also acts a pivot in the seasons for our increasingly year-round tourism market that is robust and growing.”
Siplon said the festival’s popularity reaches countless prospective visitors, sometimes in ways that can’t be measured, such as word-of-mouth advertising.
“Literally thousands of people from across the U.S. and many other countries have formed lasting and positive connections with our region through the Adirondack Balloon Festival,” he said. “One of the largest events of its type in the country, it is a hallmark of our area that never fails to bring joy to those that we see every year.”