BALLOONS rise over Antelope Island Saturday evening.
Tom Busselberg 19.SEP.06
Rain doesn’t dampen balloon fest spirits
ANTELOPE ISLAND — Even after lots of wind, lots of rain, and episodes of lightning thrown in, two of the key players in last weekend’s Balloon Stampede were still able to look back at it in a positive light. “There were a lot of positives that came out of it,” said Chris Dallin, CEO of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, which staged the event. “On Saturday night and Sunday morning we had balloon launches. They went great,” he said. “We had 17 balloons, and 11 took off. There was even a guy from Oregon” who came down to participate, Dallin said.
“They (balloonists) said some great things, that this is one of the best venues they’ve ever seen” for a balloon launch, he said.
“The most positive thing that came out of this was when things were at their worst, the morning after the high winds, when all the (vendor) tents were a twisted pile of metal. It literally looked like a scene out of Hurricane Katrina,” Dallin said.
“One of the 10- by 20-foot tents almost made it down to the beach. There was no vendor left unscathed,” he continued.
“A couple of things happened that I will never forget.
“It was the morning after the big event (Saturday), and Dan Johnson, with our biggest sponsor, Chevron, shows up, and says, ‘It looks like you’ve had a rough night. All of you have worked so hard to make this a success, why not have a party. And send me the bill.’”
The second event Dallin said he’d never forget had retired educator and big community booster Jean Madsen showing up with her walker.
“She says she wants to help wherever she can. That was awesome,” he said.
On top of that, a couple called event co-chair Lucy Hinderliter and, as a show of support for the festival, donated a check for $500, and “encouraged her to continue to do it.”
Dallin spoke of the dedication of volunteers like Nephi Voge, executive vice president and chief credit officer at First National Bank.
“He had personally taken it (blown over, mangled tent) all apart, and came up to me with tears in his eyes and said, ‘I’ve never been involved with such a group of dedicated people in my whole life. Thanks for letting us do it,’” Dallin related.
It was First National Bank volunteers who came early Saturday morning (4:45 a.m.), to prepare to collect entry fees at the ticket booths.
“Of course, our hopes were dashed against all the rocks, but to end the weekend with all those balloons in the air was great,” Dallin added.
“Our spirits got dampened by the rains and high winds, cold weather,” said Ron Taylor, Antelope Island State Park manager. “But Sunday morning, though it was scheduled to be just a little launch for a few balloonists who stayed, 12 of the 17 balloonists came out. They had a great window of opportunity.
“They said, ‘We flew. Had we had that same experience on Friday and Saturday, it would’ve been wonderful,’” Taylor recounted.
Instead of the thousands anticipated for Friday night and Saturday, there were maybe 100 on hand Sunday morning.
“We all felt very disappointed the visitors aspect didn’t go, but we really felt the interest was high. Had it not been for the weather, we would’ve had a lot of folks, would’ve had a great time,” Taylor said.
“We learned things. This being a first attempt. you always know we’re going to make a few mistakes. We’ll make it better if we decide to do it again.
“The talk on Sunday was, absolutely, we want to give it another try,” he said. “Personally, I hope we can. I think it has the potential of being a great event.
“All of the work that we did, we have no regrets, other than the fact the show couldn’t go on for the visitors who we did all that work for.”
tbusselberg@davisclipper.com
tle guy), a brilliant man, and a devout Latter Day Saint. Christian’s grasp of the issues, politics, and public policy is legend. That’s why Cannon refuses to debate him.
