LEWISTON — Todd Pomerleau stood near the edge of Simard-Payne Memorial Park on Friday night and watched his children bouncing around inside a pair of inflatable balls.
“Boy,” Pomerleau said. “That looks fun.”
It was just past 6 p.m. and still there were no signs of the balloons.
By early evening on the first day of the Great Falls Balloon festival, the skies were overcast and occasionally spitting rain. These were not great weather conditions for balloons, but still the people flocked to the park in hopes of seeing them.
“That’s the main feature for sure,” said Pomerleau, who grew up in Lewiston but lives in Boston. “There’s plenty of other stuff to do, though.”
His 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter would tend to agree. The kids were jumping around inside Bubble Runners — inflatable balls placed in a shallow pool — with giddy abandon.
“They said they didn’t want to go to the festival,” Pomerleau said. “Then we get here and they’ve been going nonstop.”
By late afternoon, the park had filled with thousands of people who had come in large part to see the hot air balloons taking to the sky. Yet by 7 p.m., there was still no sign of the balloons.
“People will be disappointed if they don’t see them,” said Ed Desgrosseilliers, manning a booth for Auburn-based Healing Waters Fly Fishing.
By 7 p.m., the balloon launch had been officially canceled. What remained to be seen was whether it would be safe enough for the balloons to be inflated on the field for the always-popular “moonglow” event.
The problem was the uncertain weather. With cloudy skies, light wind and the possibility of thunderstorms in the forecast, crews were hesitant to get their balloons inflated on the field.
There were some who grumbled, but there was plenty to do at the park even without the hot air wonders bulging above. There was food and plenty of it. There was music and dancing, and no end to games for children.
And as a few people pointed out, things were definitely better than last year, when driving rain flooded the park on the first day of the festival.
“Last year, we missed all of Friday,” recalled Scott McClelland, manning a booth for St. Martin de Porres shelter. “They had to shut the whole thing down.”
McClelland was grateful that the weather was better and crowds were big for the Friday night festival launch. St. Martin added a space for women at the shelter in February, he said, and money raised through the sale of burgers and hot dogs would definitely help maintain it.
“It’s a very good crowd,” he said. “We’ve been very busy.”
The crowds were big, indeed, and everyone seemed to be having a great old time.
But where were the balloons?
Just running a little late, as it turned about. At around 7:30 p.m., crews began hauling balloons and baskets out of their vans and suddenly, it began to look like the Balloon Festival again. Balloons were inflated — including the much-ballyhooed Elvis balloon — a short time later and the moonglow got underway.
Worth waiting for?
“Absolutely,” said one woman, as she watched the great, inflatable head of The King materialize before her eyes.
By the time it was dark, Elvis was glowing in the sky above Simard-Payne Memorial Park and all seemed right in the world of balloons.
Heaven Farrington tosses her daughter Maddy, 4, into the air at Simard Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston Friday night as they waited to hopefully watch the balloons launch. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Kyle Spence, 8, of Lewiston, back right, pushes his cousins around Simard Payne Memorial Park Friday night as they wait in hopes of seeing the balloons take off. Back left is Ava Sirois, 8, Kali Sirois, 4, front and Jaxon Sirois, 1, partially hidden, all from Auburn. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Zander Callahan, 20 mos., of Lewiston, chases bubbles his mother was making at Simard Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston Friday night as they waited to see the balloons launch. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Zander Callahan, 20 mos., of Lewiston, chases bubbles his mother was making at Simard Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston Friday night as they waited to see the balloons launch. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
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