LEWISTON — The 19th annual Great Falls Balloon Festival had a big boost from Mother Nature Saturday when she sandwiched clear skies and summer temperatures in between soggy Friday and Sunday nights.

“Last night was a good night for the festival overall,” festival Treasurer Mell Hamlyn said. “The nonprofit groups did good overall. We’ve had a pretty steady crowd of people on the field.”

Thousands gathered at Simard-Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston for Sunday’s early morning launch, which ended up being the last of the festival due to rain that evening.

Hamlyn and other festival organizers said that Saturday’s unfortunate accident involving a balloon owned by Andre Boucher did not keep crowds away from the popular Twin Cities event. Five people were injured when a sudden ball of fire erupted above the balloon’s basket as it neared liftoff.

Hamlyn said that none of the remaining 26 balloons left the event early and that at least 20 balloons took off bright and early Sunday morning.

The accident happened during the Saturday evening liftoff, but Hamlyn said crowds still remained after the accident. Fellow board member Harold Brooks said that the crowds swelled between late Saturday afternoon, just before liftoff, to well into the evening.

“I really think yesterday’s crowd was the busiest I’ve ever seen it,” Brooks said. “It was so crowded you could barely walk down there. It’s almost like people know the best time to show up down here.”

As with past years, Hamlyn estimated the overall weekend attendance at about 100,000. She said that the event raises more than $200,000 for area nonprofit groups who set up food booths at the event and man the parking garages around town.

In addition to the 31 nonprofit groups benefiting from the festival, an additional 35 craft and trade vendors also had booths at the event.

“This is our second largest fundraiser of the year,” Paul Leonard, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity, said. “It’s also a good way to reach a lot of people.”

Leonard said that the festival is a wonderful way to generate interest in Habitat for Humanity while raising much-needed funding. He said the group actually raises between $1,600 and $2,000 each year selling blooming onions and ribbon fries. The booth is manned over the course of three days by 24 dedicated volunteers.

In fact, he and his wife started as volunteers in the organization’s balloon festival booth several years ago. The couple soon became so involved with Habitat for Humanity that he jumped at the opportunity to lead the nonprofit.

“We’ve had overall a good year,” Cmdr. Hugh Brown of the American Legion Post 153 in Auburn said. “I think it’s gone quite well. This festival gives us a chance to get out and mingle with the public.”

Brown said it’s also nice to work with all the vendors because the groups get along and look forward to working with one another.

In addition to the hundreds who volunteer at the various booths and parking garages, Hamlyn said that there are about 60 people who volunteer for the festival itself.

“We like getting out and letting the kids run around,” Brian Gilbert of Lewiston said. “The kids really like seeing all the balloons up close and personal.”

Gilbert attended the festival Sunday afternoon with Katie Ellis and the couple’s two children. Like most, the family took for cover as rain started coming down, signaling the beginning of the end for the 19th annual Great Falls Balloon Festival.