FULL SLATE OF ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULED

From the opening ceremony through the final balloon flight, Ohio Challenge promises to be a full weekend of fun and festivity. Following is a complete listing of the planned activities.

All flights and many outdoor events are weather dependent. Times of specific performances and events may vary from schedule. Balloon launch times may be delayed as pilots wait for slower wind speeds.  Balloons fly only in the early morning and early evening hours – just after sunrise and just before sunset when the winds are lightest.  Specialty balloons (Old McDonald’s Farm and the Soccer Ball) are particularly susceptible to high winds and may not be able to fly even when other balloons are in the air.

Throughout the weekend:

                        Indian Village Display 

                        Balloon Discover Center

                        Arts & Crafts Booths

                        Murray Brothers Carnival

                        Waldo Wrights Flying Service – Hook field

                        Festival Foods

                        Miami University Football Toss

                        Skydivers – Team Fastrax                             

Friday

4:00-10:30 pm Park open

4:00-8:00         Helicopter Rides – Hook Field

6:00                 Opening Ceremonies

                        National Anthem –  (L to R)Rob Lehman, Paul Sauter, Emily Lane, Jillian Greer,

                        Presentation of Colors

                        Ceremony - Native American Indians

                        Skydivers – Team Fastrax

7:00                 Balloon Launch – from festival site

                        (Old McDonald’s Farm and Soccer Ball)

7:30                 The Devonshires on the Main Stage

8:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

9:00-9:45         Balloon Glow

Saturday

7:00 am            Balloon Launch – fly into festival site

                        (gates open/free parking)

Noon-10:30     Park open

Noon –10:30    Experimental/Vintage Aircraft  Display 

Noon-6:00       Helicopter Rides – Hook Field

1:00-2:30         Rugby Games – Cincinnati Men’s Club Teams

1:00-4:00         Rugrats Stars  - Chuckie and Angelica – Compliments of MidFirst Credit Union

2:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

2:00                 High School Student Performers

2:00                 Police K-9 Demonstration

3:00-5:00         Cold Air Inflated Hot Air Balloon – Walk Thru

3:00-5:00         Remote Control Plane    

4:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

5:00                 Appearance by Dave Lapham – Former Bengal football player and

                        Spokesperson for MidFirst Credit Union

6:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

7:00                 Balloon Launch from Festival Site

                        (Old McDonald’s Farm and Soccer Ball)

7:30                 P. Ann Everson Price – on the Main Stage

8:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

9:00-9:45         Balloon Glow

Sunday

7:00 am            Balloon Launch – fly into festival site

                        (gates open/free parking)

Noon-6:00 pm Park open

Noonn-6:00     Helicopter Rides – Hook Field

1:00                 Rugby Games – Cincinnati Area High School Teams

1:00                 High School Student Performers

1:00-3:00         Rugrats Stars – Chuckie & Angelica – Compliments of MidFirst Credit Union

2:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

2:00                 Police K-9 Demonstration

2:00-4:00         Johnny B and the Gravediggers – on the Main Stage

3:00-5:00         Cold Air Inflated Hot Air Balloon – Walk Thru

3:00-5:00         Remote Control Plane

4:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

6:00                 Skydivers – Team Fastrax

7:00                 Balloon Launch from inside Smith Park

                         (Old McDonald’s Farm and Soccer Ball)

Entertainment:. 

• MidFirst Credit Union, major sponsor of the Ohio Challenge, invite former Bengal football player Dave Lapham and MidFirst spokesperson to visit the festival to greet fans.  

• Chuckie and Angelica, Rugrats cartoon characters will also visit Ohio Challenge to greet their  fans thanks to MidFirst Credit Union.

• Waldo Wright’s Flying Service will offer open cockpit plane rides from the Hook Field Airport. Relive the golden age of aviation with Rob Lock, pilot who will take 15 minutes trips over the Middletown area in an original 1929 Flying Circus Aeroplane.

• Walk inside a real balloon. Thanks to local pilots, Dr. Mark Frazer and James Wannemacher, a Hot Air Balloon will be on the ground, inflated with cold air to allow children to experience the feeling of being inside a real balloon.  - $1 per child – proceeds go to a local charity.

• The Devonshires are five brothers performing a Golden Hits show with a big dose of humor. The Devonshires take to the outdoor stage on Friday night.

• P. Ann Everson-Price will take the Ohio Challenge stage on Saturday night. The two-time Grammy Award  winner presents jazz, R&B, gospel and blues. A complete entertainer, she also finds time to serve as Vocal Coach and Director for the Youth Chorale of the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati. As the Director, she mentors over 50 children between the ages of 5 and 16 years old.

• So, who’s packing your parachute?  David Hart brings his skydiving team to Smith Park. The Fastrax Team will perform several times throughout the weekend. Jumps will include from 4 to 20 jumpers, the Men’s championship competition team, the Women’s 4-way competition team, Demonstration jump team and the Canopy Pilot competition team. Team members will be available to talk to guests at the Team Fastrax tent before and after jumps. 

• Cincinnati Rugby Teams will play games on the Smith Park soccer fields. Stop by the field to get a taste of how the gentlemanly, yet tough game, is played. 

• Balloon Glows on both Friday and Saturday evening will be a magical time when several of the balloon pilots and crews return to Smith Park and reinflate their balloons. Using the propane flames, they light up the inside of the balloons and act as giant fire flies twinkling in the night.

• Johnny B and the Gravediggers is a three piece band with a big sound. Jay Brunner, leader plays bass and is a middle school music teacher in the Middletown City Schools when not playing music with his band or as musical director of the Rising Phoenix Theatre Company. Kenny Kraft is a construction contractor and guitarist. Rick Krebs teachers art in the Middletown City Schools and plays drums in the group.

• Remote Control Airplane – is a dual control model plane which allows its owner to serve as a “driving instructor” as guests fly the small craft around a designated site. Like a driving instructor for new automobile drivers, if the student flies too far off course, the dual controls allow a correction in the flight pattern.  Proceeds benefit a local charity

• Experimental Aircraft Assn Chapter 1393 displays aircraft on the Hook Field side of the festival area..  A half-size hand-crafted P-47 Thunderbolt, 1946 Original Aeronca Champ built in Middletown, Rockwell 112 Commander, Helicopter 269B and other WWII aircraft.   

The Ohio Challenge, with primary sponsor Mid-First Credit Union, is hosted by the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.