Balloonapalooza Needs $30k Or Will Be Cancelled

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Balloonapalooza may not happen this summer if the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association is unable to secure $30,000 in cash sponsorship in the next ten days, BIA officials said Thursday afternoon.

The annual August festival is billed as North America’s only cold-air balloon festival featuring giant inflatables, live music concerts, bustling sidewalk cafés, train rides, an amusement park, balloon artists, clowns, buskers and more.

The organization’s board of directors recently voted to cancel the 2014 festival unless it is able to raise an additional $30,000 in cash sponsorship within the next 10 days.

The BIA says the cancellation vote comes after they lost almost a third of their budget in recent months from funding cuts.

“It is truly heartbreaking to lose a successful, iconic, family-friendly event and one that has such a positive economic and social impact on our downtown, city and region,” says BIA chair Larry Horwitz. “The DWBIA is willing to contribute significant funds to the festival but we need the community’s support to raise the $30,000 shortfall.”

Officials note that an economic impact study completed by Enigma Research on behalf of Festivals and Events Ontario in 2013 revealed that the annual summer festival attracted over 40,000 visitors and had an economic impact of over $1 million.