Balloon Festival

Is this for real? From the MJ:

When the Ohio Challenge hot air balloon festival lifts off in July, it will do so with a few changes.

The parking entrance for the event held July 17-19 will be moved to the Hook Field airport entrance off Ohio 4, with a free shuttle that will take visitors to Smith Park.

"We're trying to make it safer and less cumbersome ... there's limited hard surface parking (off Tytus Avenue) and we wanted to be careful of parking people on the grounds there," said Ann Mort, event spokeswoman. The Ohio Challenge has teamed with the airport and with the Middletown Aviation Foundation to help make this possible. The pedestrian entrance will remain at Tytus Avenue.

A few points to ponder:

Will those who have children want to pack strollers, coolers, blankets, etc on a shuttle when they could simply remove then from their cars and go as they have in the past with parking inside Smith Park?

What about those who may need to make multiple trips to their vehicles.

Tytus Ave was always backed up with traffic. I can't imagine the mess on Germantown Rd.

Mort says there is limited hard surface parking off Tytus Ave. Can anyone tell me where all the hard surface parking is located at the airport?

Will this help increase attendance? I'd be suprised! Of course weather is a factor.

These are just a few off the top of my head.

 

I believe the real cause of this were some complaints from some of the sports groups.

I think they should leave it the way it's been in the past.  JMO

 

Welcome 409 and thanks for the nice informational post!

MadMom...I (we) appreciate that. In discussing this parking scenario with others, we all feel this will be detrimental to increasing attendance and an inconvenience. Likewise, I believe most would like to see this event continue through the years. It just won't happen if attendance keeps dropping. Also, a good time for a reasonable price in this economy.

Ann Mort has been associated with the Ohio Challenge since its inception. Her hard work and experience in public relations has helped the event to grow as it has.

And no, I am neither a relative nor a city person

River Wind

I don't know why you jump on Ann Mort all the time. People like Ann are the people getting things done in this town. What have you done that is as good as any 1 think Ann has done?

409 wrote: MadMom...I (we) appreciate that. In discussing this parking scenario with others, we all feel this will be detrimental to increasing attendance and an inconvenience. Likewise, I believe most would like to see this event continue through the years. It just won't happen if attendance keeps dropping. Also, a good time for a reasonable price in this economy.

www.midfirstohiochallenge.com

Please go to this site and voice your concerns. There are e-mail contacts on this site. They know there are people not happy with the new parking for 2009. BUT there are extenuating circumstances that sort of forced the executive committee's hand. The executive committee has been working on this for months. This event takes almost a year to plan. Lots of good people doing something that Middletown should be proud of. Besides holding down a full time job, this is strictly volunteer.

409, more about this event will come to light in the next few months.

Will the shuttle be set up for handicap people? My sister comes from Columbus Ohio every year, she is in a wheelchair and she brings her grand kids with her. I told her about the change in parking, she said it would make it hard on her with the kids.So she said she would not be coming this year and she would not be coming back for light up Middletown also. She said Middletown is really going down the tubes fast. She comes to visit all the time and says the magazine article is true, Middletown is dieing.