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| Vol. 17, No. 3 | Sept. 18, 1997 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 3 | Sept. 18, 1997 |
If floating up high, way up in the sky is your idea of something to do-or if you'd like to watch from the ground below-the Hot Air Balloon and Family Fair is for you!
Benefiting the College of Health and Nursing Sciences and the American Lung Association of Delaware, the festival will be held from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Delaware Field House and will feature hot air balloons, crafts, health booths, food and entertainment. A balloon "glow" will begin at approximately 7 p.m.
Admission is free to UD students with ID, $5 for adults over 18 and $1 for children. Parking around the Field House is plentiful and free.
The day will provide several photo opportunities, so those attending are encouraged to bring cameras. Weather permitting, pre-fair activities begin when several hot air balloons (Paradise Star, Color the Sky, Smile High, Dream Chaser, to name a few) with pilots and crews will be launched from the Field House area parking lots. Pilot briefing begins at 6 a.m., with lift-off scheduled to start at 7:20 a.m. The balloons should be visible in the Newark area between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Beverages, muffins and bagels will be available for early morning viewers.
A sunset flight with lift-off between approximately 4-4:30 p.m. also is scheduled.
Although the craft vendors close at 6 p.m., food will be available until 7 p.m., and everyone is encouraged to stay for the grand finale, the hot air balloon glow, with set-up beginning at approximately 7 p.m. As darkness descends, the balloons are inflated once more. They are tethered to the ground because of Federal Aviation Administration regulations, and are lit up from the inside like huge, multi-colored globes.
Weather permitting, tethered balloon rides will be available for $5 outside the Field House, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Also scheduled are a demonstration of ballooning and videos.
Inside the Field House-where a partially inflated hot air balloon will set the theme-fun, food, games, health booths and entertainment will be going on for the entire family.
Entertainment includes Tuesday, a comedy of movement by the UD Professional Theatre Training Program; Lois Young's participatory music and puppet review, featuring oversized hand puppets, for kids from ages 2 through 8; and storytelling by Sandy Lewis, incorporating the guitar, tin whistle and other one-man-band instruments, as well as juggling.
Kids also will enjoy Old McDonald's Farm, sponsored by the Division of Special Programs, the College and Health and Nursing Sciences and the Animal Science Club of the College of Agricultural Sciences, where they can get a close-up view of barnyard friends.
For sports fans, a volleyball invitational will be held with matches at 10 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The hot air balloon festival will help support research in the College of Health and Nursing Sciences and its degree programs-health and exercise sciences, medical technology, nursing and nutrition and dietetics-and raise awareness of important health issues.
-Sue Swyers Moncure
