No.
I don’t know the meaning of that word.
Two weeks ago it was opening day of what many considered a miraculous event to happen in my community. Defying all odds, insurance companies, attorneys, and bureaucrats, the day would bring the 20th annual Hot Air Balloon Festival at the Warren County Farmers’ Fair… wait, at the Warren County Farmers’ Fairgrounds… wait, the 20th annual Warren County Hot Air Balloon Festival at Warren County Community College.
People came from New York, Philadelphia, even Connecticut and Delaware, all in search of something… anything… to do.
I’ll be honest, I was skeptical. Not that it would happen, but if we would break even. A few weeks before the event I was trying to guestimate exactly how much in the hole the event (me) would be. Would it be $2,000 or $12,000? As the imaginary cash register cha-chinged in the back of my mind each day, I tried to brace myself for the worst case scenario.
I didn’t know the President of the college was also skeptical. This would be the first time he was actively involved in organizing this event. At the Fairgrounds he was just a sponsor and active participant, showing off his collection of drones and touting the incredible drone programs they offer at the local college.
Naturally, the first time slot to sell out, was Saturday night. We were limited to 500 people on the grounds. That included participants and volunteers, as well as visitors. This was about a week before the event. Ticket sales were slow for the other times and I was starting to get nervous and asking what I got myself into. By the time the first day rolled around the event was not only sold out of admission tickets, but just about every pilot was booked with balloon riders for the week. This included three 6:30 am flights. Hot air balloons fly in the morning at sunrise, or in the evening about 2 hours before sunset. Nobody in their right mind would schedule a balloon ride that early otherwise, right?!?
The first day, Wednesday, we opened from 2:30–9:30 pm. At about 4 pm I got a call on the radio, “I have a family of 4 that drove over an hour and a half. They don’t have tickets. Can I sell them tickets?” I replied (over the radio), “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.” So it began. We sold some tickets at the gate for $10 per person. We let others park in nearby parking lots to catch a free show. Most people gladly paid. A few people complained afterwards via email, since the tickets were a little more expensive than online (which included tax, credit card charges and a handling fee). But when I explained to them the event just didn’t drop out of the sky, and we had to add more staff to even make tickets available, they were ok with it. I also pointed out that they could have parked in one of the free parking lots. We were obviously not shoo-ing anyone away. (That’s one of my few little rants there. Go somewhere else…. oh, wait… you can’t.)
The first day the staff at the College was amazed at the people that came, how far they came, how smooth it all went and then handed me a big wad of money. We repeated this for all 5 days of the event. (Don’t worry folks. All proceeds are going to my two established 501c3 charities.)
For two days leading up to the event my phone began to ring non-stop. I could not keep up with the volume of calls, and could not return the voice mails fast enough. Everyone was calling to tell me the website wasn’t working because they could not purchase tickets. By the first hour of the event, I called the people handling the Social Media and Google Ad campaigns and told them to turn it all off. At some point on Friday afternoon (I think) I rejoiced as I reached zero voicemails on my phone. It only took a half hour to get 5 more (that I did not answer.) By then I was sending out an auto message to email their questions. Funny part was, that night when I got home I found a DM from one of my twitter followers (apologetically) ask if there was some way he and his girlfriend could get tickets. By then I was telling people to just purchase tickets at the gate, but not to tell anyone else because we would be mobbed and have to cut entry off at some point. Some wanted reassurance that they would not be denied entry when traveling over 2 hours. So I ended up emailing permission slips to random strangers. I referred to them as “Epstein’s mother” notes for the people at the gate.
The second day I asked the President if they were happy they decided to host. He said, “you know, when you first asked about having it here, I was thinking you were crazy but I liked you and didn’t want to say no.” By the third day the President was making comments to me like, “When we do this next year…” They had already signed up 4 new students for their drone program. By the end of the week they doubled enrollment. That is about 30 students. While that doesn't seem like a lot, the program is just getting started. Their bigger problem is finding people to teach. They are actually having to train people to teach the courses.
The entire week I had to deal with situations that popped up, but at every turn I turned around and there was the solution waiting to be implemented. I wasn’t the only one that noticed. Someone was definitely watching over our event. There wasn’t a day that one or several of the pilots informed me the weather or wind direction meant we weren’t going to fly. Each day I silently scoffed at them. By the end of the week one of the pilots was posting something like “then Giulia got out her magic wand and we flew.” This was a welcomed change from the broomstick they previously all thought I flew on. That was when I was a little more behind the scenes and my message was distorted by middlemen. Best decision ever to get rid of them.
There were 8 flights scheduled across the 5 days. By Saturday afternoon everyone was in disbelieve that we got 5 of 5 off. Basically every pilot flew but one, that had a bad experience in the past, when a nearby forest ate her balloon. Understandable. Then it was 6 of 6, then 7 of 7. Surely we would not get 8 of 8 off, given the forecast for the last night. It was a nail biter. While I was resolved to a record of 7 of 8, slowly the balloons began to inflate. Still, I wasn’t sure that they would take off rather than just put on a ground show for the crowd. Then it happened. The first pilot took off and made it 8 of 8.
I still was not convinced it was a perfect night though. The thing about this pilot, Steve, is that he will fly when no one else will. I have one rule at the festival. If Steve wants to fly when no one else does, either they gotta talk him out of it, or they gotta go with him. I was not convinced my orders were not being defied, until a few minutes later when another took off, and another and another. When I saw Mark took off, I knew it was for real. He’s an airline pilot and weather nut. He tends to be more cautious. In the end out of 19 scheduled balloons there was only one that didn’t show, and 6 that did a ground show. We put on a spectacular show. You can check out the photos here.
Yesterday I got word that there was another local festival that cancelled. They were scheduled for September 19th in the next town over. Sadly the decision came from the town attorney and mayor after receiving ONE complaint.
The moral of my story is you can do absolutely anything that you put your mind to. You just have to have the will. I didn’t just throw this event together. I had to stand up to numerous bureaucrats to get this done. I put a lot of thought into the culture I wanted from visitors and participants.
At the end of this post I share words that were included in the Schedule of Events that was received by everyone that purchased tickets. It set the stage and tone for the event and I believe was instrumental in keeping it fun for all.
I simply was not taking No for an answer. I’ve already put in my third request to have the Drone Racing Track at the college named in memory of Fred. Oh, and we’re starting our own Drone Racing league — the Ninja Drone Racing League. Stay tuned!
- Update September 14, after a month of recovery…
I’ve spent the day planning our next event. Not a year from now, but for October 24 & 25, 2020. We can’t let the adults steal Trick or Treat from our kids. So for my next trick I present… Treats & Tricks — Flying Fun. Featuring drones and hot air balloons, carpet bombing candy to kids. Also a balloon glow, where kids can gather candy from strangers in the semi-dark of night. I gotta work on the details a bit but… it’s coming together nicely.
Here is a video of the event.
From the August Event Program Schedule…
It was 20 years ago, my husband Fred and I started this event at the Warren County Farmers’ Fair, in a little town called Harmony. (Lord willing, we will be back there next year!) He grew up in Harmony and would go to the Fair every year. He would talk about participating in the shovel races, where one rode the horse holding on to a rope, tied to a shovel. The shovel was pulled behind the horse with a rider on it. I can’t imagine what the insurance company would say about that today!
Fred liked to fly anything and everything. He would be all over the drone program at the Community College. They have lots of toys so be sure to stop and talk to them about what they offer, or just to watch some really cutting-edge tech.
Many have worked hard to make this event happen. We could not do this without the support of our host, sponsors, pilots and their crew, volunteer staff, teachers, sign artists, local government, fire, emergency and police personnel. Thank you!
We’ve strived to present an event where you can social distance easily. But there may be areas that you are required to wear a mask. We get it. No one really wants to wear a mask. But we ask that you be prepared to do so where social distancing is not possible, or where signs designate a mask area. Your cooperation in this is essential for keeping this event a positive thing for the community.
We encourage you to explore our beautiful area while visiting. Visit a farm, winery, park, eatery and other local small businesses that need our support.
This hasn’t been easy for anyone. It would have been easier to say, let’s skip this year. But those that knew Fred, know he never said, “no, that can’t be done.” In addition to being a balloon pilot, Fred loved to sail. He would tell great sailing stories. His friends always got nervous when the storms started rolling in. They wanted to turn back to safety but he would say, “The sailing doesn’t start getting good until you see the white caps.”
I can’t swim, so I chose to say, Let’s Fly!
Giulia Grotenhuis
P.S. Hold the date for the Warren County Farmers’ Fair, July 31-August 7, 2021.
