LEWISTON, Maine — Lewiston city officials say they are working to get the annual balloon festival off the ground for 2024 after organizers of the Great Falls Balloon Festival announced Wednesday that they would be canceling the event.
Organizers cited "several significant obstacles" and "a series of challenges and unforeseen circumstances" as the reason for the cancellation, including "logistical issues, safety concerns, and other unexpected factors beyond our control."
"This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the disappointment this news will bring to our community, sponsors, volunteers, and participants who have eagerly anticipated this event," organizers said in a social media post.
According to organizers, the festival's mission is to provide fundraising opportunities for local nonprofit organizations while celebrating the community and promoting the Lewiston-Auburn area as a visitor destination.
"The Board of Directors are committed to returning stronger in the future and are taking this time to reorganize and plan a more successful and resilient event," the post said.
While a long-term plan has yet to be sorted out, city officials in Lewiston quickly jumped into action, saying they have high hopes of getting the event off the ground for the 2024 season.
Nate Libby, assistant director of economic and community development for Lewiston, told NEWS CENTER Maine that the three-day event draws thousands to the region each year, bringing an influx of business to the local economy.
"Each year of the festival in the last several years, over 100,000 folks have come to Lewiston-Auburn to participate," he said. "Collectively, folks spend about $2 million over those three days, participating in events, shopping at our shops, eating at our restaurants, staying at our hotels."
Libby acknowledged the challenges volunteer organizations face when putting on events such as this one and said the city was planning to do what it could to offer a helping hand to make the event happen, at least for this year.
"It takes enormous effort on the part of these volunteers to put on an event to serve 100,000 people, and so I think we appreciate that there are a lot of challenges for this group to put on an event," he said. "The city very much wants to partner with them to see if we can provide additional support and resources."
Several of those supports Libby said the city can offer include event organizers, scheduling and training for events, paperwork processing, insurance, and public works and public safety needs.
"We expect to play a key role in helping to support the background and logistic needs of an event like this," he said.