6.12.2011

The 9th annual MidUSA Ohio Challenge Hot Air Balloon Festival will involve more and more of the sponsors in festival activities.

The presenting sponsor, MidUSA Credit Union, maintains a booth on site raising money via a raffle to help fund children’s cancer research.

Middletown Community Foundation will staff a Welcome Booth near the shuttle entrance to the festival site offering wrist bands for children on which the parents can write contact information, just in case the little ones get separated from the adults.

Grace Baptist Ministries will be providing some of the shuttle buses and Middletown Christian Schools Foundation will serve up a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning from 8 to 10:30 am.

StartSkydiving.com will, once again, “drop in” with their professional skydivers.

Miami University Middletown will offer a kite flying demonstration and help children learn to fly the kites available on-site.

Middletown Public Library will staff the Children’s Discovery tent with free games and activities.

Gentle Breeze takes folks for tethered balloon rides, weather permitting, during the morning and evening flight times.

MidUSA Ohio Challenge was chosen by the Butler County Visitors Bureau this year to extend the advertising reach with their ads to more than double the advertising usually done by the Challenge which is possible only through a grant from the Middletown CVB.

Some sponsors provide their product, equipment or extend discounts to help keep the festival costs down. Digital Visuals makes all the signs. Dillman Foods delivers fried chicken for the sponsor/pilot dinner. Kleingers & Associates loans their high tech equipment and expertise to measure pilot competitions. Alliance Printing will print the Official Program Guide. Atrium Medical Center is sponsoring the on-site emergency first aid service. Rumpke does what Rumpke does with trash and portable toilets. And, Berns allows Challenge to piggyback on their I-75 signage.

In addition, most sponsors help promote the event through their own newsletters, in-house signage and promotions.

Maria Langendorf, chairman of the event, said, “We find that our sponsors not only invest in the MidUSA Ohio Challenge with their cash, which helps defray the cost of producing the event, but they are becoming more and more involved with the diverse activities at the event. They bring their own touch to a popular regional festival which makes it even more unique. It’s this combining of talent and local product that makes this festival possible and affordable for families.”

For more information visit www.MidUSAOhioChallenge.com or info@ohiochallenge.com or 513-705-1770.