2013 Art & Balloon Festival, August 30, 2013
Special edition of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com Page 145
25
years
and
going
The old adage of "Build it and they will come" certainly
rings true at the Logan County Airport. Out at the
airport many preparations have been made to host this
weekend's 25th annual hot air balloon portion of the
40th anniversary of the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival.
Plans for this year's festival actually began last year.
Patrick Doolin is the driving force behind much of the
coordinating of a host of volunteers who work out at
the airport. Doolin has done this for …, well, lots of
years, learning as he went and making endless notes.
Now a day-by-day timeline of what to do and when to
do it exists in a 27-page document, and that doesn't
count a number of maps.
A small "city" is built out of an alfalfa field and is host
and home to many activities for several days.
This doesn't happen without the efforts of countless
teams of volunteers. For instance, early on, the parking
lot was marked, using GPS to create the lanes and
"parking blocks" with strategic mowing of the alfalfa.
The green crop is taken out where the cars will park,
and the 2-foot-wide strips that are left represent the
parking blocks. Another team sets out the barrels to
mark the parking rows and denote the driving lanes.
The number of people, entities and agencies is a list
way too long to even begin telling who contributed to
make a dream a reality. There are signs all over town
and on roads leading into Lincoln directing spectators
to the myriad of festival events to be enjoyed. And,
there is a volunteer team that undertakes that challenge
with vigor and great attitude.
What many attendees don’t consider is the attention
paid to details.
Can you imagine a festival this size without adequate
trash receptacles? Between 15 and 21 large trash bins
are brought in, and countless trash barrels are set
around. The Boy Scouts will patrol the area, picking up
litter and keeping the trash cans usable.
While trash control is important, so are the porta-
potties. Volunteers consult the maps and mark the
grounds for locations of these necessary facilities.
Maps also denote the location of the lighting fixtures
for large events and the emergency routes allowing
ambulance and fire truck access to critical areas.
Nearly every square inch of space is marked on the
maps, denoting the location of countless items that just
seem to be there when the festival gates open.
Another very important component that evolves over
the week is water distribution and electricity. There
are teams of professionals who work to bring those
necessary services to fruition. Even the use of backup
generators is on-site in the event of an unexpected
power outage, as just so happened right as the evening
band was beginning a couple of years ago. The night’s
entertainment was quickly saved.
Our EMA, police, sheriff ’s deputies, fire departments,
paramedics, auxiliary police, horse search and rescue
teams, and a long list of other safety personnel are on-
site as well.
Stop out this weekend and check out what the
volunteers have brought you. Even better, volunteer
your time and join their ranks of sharing with Lincoln.
[By ROY LOGAN]
Lincoln balloon fest:
Volunteers make it work
