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2016 Lincoln Balloon Fest
LINCOLN DAILY NEWS
August 30, 2016
However, Mother Nature was still ‘spinning
the wheel,’ and this time, she threw blacks.
The white popcorn clouds of earlier in the day
turned dark and a bit ominous, with bolts of
lightning charging rapidly to the ground nearby.
Winds shifted, coming in from the south
and the temperature dropped considerably,
indicating that something was a brew. Soon
announcer Cameron Kurtz would come over the
loud speaker and tell guests to be aware a storm
was moving in with predictions of high wind
and rain along with thunder and lightning. He
also shared that due to the late hour of the storm
passing, the balloonists would not plan for an
evening glow.
The music in the beer garden area stopped, and
several hundred people left for the evening as
was indicated by the long lines of traffic working
to leave the Logan County Airport.
However, not everyone left, far from it. Many
folks did return to vehicles or sought shelter
in some of the tents and open outbuildings at
the airport, while others, braver ones for sure,
stayed put out in the open air and watched the
storm approach…..and then take a turn to the
more easterly direction.
Later, Kurtz would come back on the
loudspeaker and announce that all the other
activities on the Saturday night schedule would
proceed because the storm had passed by
Lincoln without becoming active.
On the schedule for the balance of the night
was live music on the main stage near the beer
garden, carnival rides, and the petting zoo,
and the annual V.I.P. dinner served by John
Guzzardo and his staff of Guzzardo’s Restaurant
in Lincoln.
The dinner this year lived up to the high
expectations, as is true whenever the name
“Guzzardo” is mentioned. As the V.I.P. tent
filled with guests including pilots, crews,
sponsors, and others, the food was dished up,
filling plates to heaping full. On the menu this
year was salad and bread, baby potatoes, green
beans, penne pasta with a rich red sauce, and
in John Guzzardo’s words, “ham, roast beef or
both,” topped off with an optional rich brown
gravy. Cold beverages were offered, and there
were cookies for dessert. Each guest to the V.I.P.
was also offered one complimentary drink from
the beer garden if they wished.
Later in the evening, Brushville, a very highly
sought after country band with local ties to
Logan County, would perform as the finale’ for
the 2016 Lincoln Balloon Festival.
Viewing the large number of people gathered
around the balloons Saturday evening, as well
as what had to be thousands, sitting in the green
spectator space, the shoulder to shoulder people
at the live entertainment, and an airport filled to
capacity with parked vehicles, this was another
great festival event in spite of Mother Nature’s
influences.
By Nila Smith