NEW STYLE BALLOON GLOW AT LIGHT UP MIDDLETOWN

No sense in deflating your holiday hot-air hopes. Thanks to the support of Dr. Mark Frazier and 10 other local balloonists including Release Hot Air Balloon Adventures, Gentle Breeze and Bella Balloons, and MidFirst Ohio Challenge, the community will continue to enjoy the Holiday Balloon Glow at Smith Park.

When The Journal, which, along with Fricker¹s Restaurant, had  sponsored the balloon glow for numerous years, decided to cancel this year¹s glow, Frazier and others stepped forward.

The annual Holiday Balloon Glow will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec.2 and will take on a new look this year. Several hot air balloons will be positioned around the loop driving tour of Light Up Middletown animated light displays.

Working in shifts, the balloons will light up the night sky by firing their propane burners normally used to heat the air inside the balloons to lift the basket with pilot and passengers into the sky. For this one magical evening, the balloons will not fly, but serve as giant holiday lights blinking on and off as the burners are fired to light up the huge balloons.

Unlike in other years, there will be no entertainment  or food sold by non-profit organizations at the glow.

Edwina Blackwell Clark, publisher of the Middletown Journal, praised Frazier for assembling a group of supporters to make sure balloon glow happened this year.  “Our intent was to use this year to find ways to improve balloon glow so that it remains a permanent holiday event for the community,” Blackwell Clark said. “At the same time, Dr. Frazier didn’t want the community to miss out on the balloons this year.” She called the glow “a great Middletown holiday tradition” and said the company looks forward to working with some community groups to make it it stronger in 2009.

MidFirst Ohio Challenge decided to help sponsor the holiday glow as a thank you to the community which supports the summer-time hot air balloon event.

Light Up Middletown, a fantasy light display, welcomes the hot air balloons to become a more integral part of the entertainment, said Flo Randall, founder of Light Up.

As with all hot air balloon events, weather is a significant factor.  If winds, rain or snow prevent the balloon glow, Light Up Middletown will continue to operate as it does every night, regardless of weather conditions, through New Year¹s Eve.

Guests should plan to enter via Tytus Avenue, tour the display or pull off in any of the parking lots in the park to watch for a longer period.  As usual, admission is by donation.  For more information, call 513-423-1877.