LEWISTON – Tens of thousands of people will enter Lewiston and Auburn’s downtowns this weekend to watch a fleet of 44 balloons – the centerpiece to the 13th Annual Great Falls Balloon Festival – take flight above the cities.
Festival leaders predict they’ll top last year’s record attendance of 100,000, though forecasts hint of possible showers for the latter half of the three-day weekend.
“People come for the entire experience,” said John Davis, the festival’s vice president for media relations. “It’s the whole package.”
There will be more balloons than before. And besides their launches, which are scheduled for each morning and evening, there will be fireworks, 30 food booths, music on two stages and nighttime balloon displays called “moonglow.” The latter event, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, features inflated but tethered balloons that are lit up by their hot air burners.
Weather permitting, the moonglow displays will feature all four of this year’s specially shaped balloons: a purple people eater, an American flag, a space shuttle and the head of the Statue of Liberty.
The three patriotic balloons all reflect this year’s theme: Salute to the Troops.
Despite the thousands of people coming into the area, officials expect few traffic snarls or parking problems.
On the Maine Turnpike, where work is under way to update the Lewiston exit, flaggers will be present Friday to guide travelers through the construction. On Saturday, the work will be shut down.
Workers know about the likely traffic and are prepared, said Dan Paradee, spokesman for the Maine Turnpike Authority.
Downtown, police will close Oxford Street beside Railroad Park to all but people with handicaps. During Friday’s fireworks, the Longley Bridge will also be closed.
And parking should cause few problems, Davis said.
Municipal parking garages in Auburn and Lewiston will be open. Meanwhile, area nonprofit groups will be leading people into nearby parking lots. Groups will be asking for donations, but those are gifts and entirely voluntary.
Parking attendants have been explicitly instructed to admit anyone, regardless of whether they make a donation, Davis said.
Thousands of spaces will be available along the festival corridor, from Railroad Park in Lewiston to Festival Plaza in Auburn and points in between.
“No one who comes here should have to walk more than 10 minutes,” Davis said.
A free shuttle bus will also take people from Great Falls Plaza and Bonney Park in Auburn to the corner of Lincoln and Chestnut streets in Lewiston.
The event will be overseen by hundreds of volunteers, led by a 15-member Board of directors which plans, raises money and produces the three-day event.
“It takes an army of people to pull it off,” Davis said. “The local business community drives this festival. They’ve really opened up their hearts and their pocketbooks.”
The events, which will kick off Friday morning with the first balloon launch, will include the usual host of activities, food and entertainment.
Some are more usual than others. There will be fireworks on Friday night. There will be cheering, boxing and karate demonstrations, a steel band, a jug band, pizza-eating and clam-eating contests and belly dancers.
There will also be lots of music. The stages at Railroad Park and Festival Plaza will welcome both returning and first-time acts.
Returning acts include guitarist Denny Breau, singer Melinda Liberty, 10-year-old Brian Wardwell and folk artist Anni Clark.
One of the newcomers, Lynn Julian, will perform with her band Spirit of Sunday, as her alter ego, Cookie Cutter Girl. A product of Julian’s desire to provide a positive role model for girls, her character is a comic book superhero and a variation of the Cinderella story.
“Instead of a glass slipper, she has a magic guitar,” Julian explained. Clad in her Cookie Cutter Girl costume, she sings songs about strength and the preserving self-identity.
Julian will be performing with band mates Peter Doubt, Pat Callahan and Dave Lynden at 4:30 p.m. at Railroad Park.
“Growing up, there weren’t a lot of female role models in the music industry or on screen,” Julian said. “I wanted this generation to see women in strong roles. I believe there is an incredible need for that right now.”
More information
For complete information on the festival, go online to www.greatfallsballoonfestival.org.
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