LEWISTON – Rhythm, blues and propane burners blended with applause while a near-perfect sunset provided the backdrop for one final ride into the skyline high above the Twin Cities as the 16th Annual Great Falls Balloon Festival drew to a close Sunday evening.

“I’ve always dreamed of going up and this is my chance and I’m taking it,” an excited Irma McGuinness said as she climbed into the basket of a hot-air balloon preparing to take flight from Railroad Park in Lewiston. “It’s a wonderful opportunity and I want to see the whole city from the air.”

McGuinness, an employee at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Auburn, hitched a ride in the Children’s Miracle Network balloon piloted by Jon Thompson, which was making its first appearance in the Twin Cities. He said the visit was partly in thanks to the Lewiston-Auburn area for its effort in raising more than $250,000 for the organization through the local Wal-Mart.

Thompson, who hails from Kissimmee, Fla., travels the country throughout the year with the hot-air balloon team. He said one of the most impressive aspects of his visit to Maine this weekend was the amount of community support he saw firsthand.

“We’ve had a blast. The support here has been wonderful,” Thompson said. “Just look around – it’s Sunday night and look at all the people out here.”

As McGuinness and the crew aboard her hot-air carriage lifted off into the setting sun to tour the central Maine countryside, festival entertainment headliners – North Carolina’s Roomful of Blues – got Simard-Payne Memorial Park rockin’ as the eight-man band belted out the tunes while the crowd jumped to their feet.

According to organizers, the festival featured 27 hot-air balloons – including panda bear and dragon shaped balloons in keeping with this year’s theme of Animal Kingdom – as well as more than 30 vendors representing a variety of local non-profits. Ann Dehetre-Arsenault, president of the Great Falls Balloon Festival committee, estimated that about 145,000 people turned out for the event.

Among the enthusiastic supporters were friends George Small, Irene Cote and Dianne Dudley, who had front row seats for the final launch Sunday evening. The trio consider the event a great way for the L-A community to come together each year. Eighty-one-year-old Cote, of Auburn, joked that the event transforms her into a big kid every year.

“I love this. I’m like a child at my age,” Cote said. “I get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to get ready to see them launch.”

Always guaranteed to be a huge draw for the Twin Cities, the Great Falls Balloon Festival not only brings out local residents, but tourists from across the state and region.

“The most fun is watching the balloons take off and all the different colors,” said 12-year-old John Martincic, of Winslow, who made his first trip to see the hot-air balloons with his family this weekend.

And while his favorite part may have been the balloons, his younger sister and brother seemed to like the face-painting best. Both 9-year-old Timothy and 7-year-old Angelica were decked out in animal designs and flowers thanks to face-painters over at Festival Plaza in Auburn – which also featured music, vendors and family-oriented fun.

The kids’ parents, John and Audrey, said they liked the event because it featured a variety of family activities at an affordable cost. Because admission was free, Audrey Martincic said the family spent money that otherwise would have gone to entrance fees into supporting the local non-profit organizations running booths throughout the event.

According to Dehetre-Arsenault, the balloon festival raises about $180,000 for area non-profits, of which about $20,000 goes back to the festival committee for next year.

“I think we had a very successful 16th balloon festival. These non-profits worked very hard this weekend,” Dehetre-Arsenault said. “I think it’s a great event. It brings a lot of people out and it promotes the Twin Cities.”