We have enjoyed the hospitality and sense of small town community for the past 20 years at Keiser Park in Windsor. However, the event, much like the surrounding communities in the bay area, have grown from a few balloonists gathering for a weekend to an event enjoyed by thousands.
As the event has grown we have pushed the bounds of the community park the event has called home. We have heard feedback from our attendees and knew there are improvements to be made which could not happen at the current location. We are working on a new location with more space for attendees as well as more balloons, more parking, better freeway access, as well as other activities on the festival grounds.
This move will take a good amount of resources and time to complete properly so the SCHABC board has decided we will not be able to hold a full event in spring of 2019. However, we are looking forward to a bigger and better 30th year anniversary event in 2020 at the new location.
A few more details:
The spaces that hot air balloon events are held in need to be vary carefully chosen. The even coordinators keep the attendees in mind with parking, ground conditions, entrance accessibility and much more. But it is also an air show event, we need to keep flights paths and air space classifications in mind. Most people who have attended a hot air balloon event know then are very susceptible to fog, rain, and winds so locations need to be perfect for ballooning for a successful event. Landing zones and FAA requirements need to be coordinated.
We appreciate your patience as we work on the event relocation.