The Penske racecar pictured above will be featured at the 41st All Ohio Balloon Fest Friday and Saturday. The car will be located at the event entrance and is available for patrons to view and take pictures. Penske supports drivers Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud.
(Photo submitted)
––––
The 41st All Ohio Balloon Fest (AOBF) is only one day away from take-off. The fest will start Thursday and last through Saturday at the Union County Airport.
For those who do not have their tickets and want to bypass long lines, people are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance for Thursday at ticketfly.com and eventbrite.com for Friday and Saturday.
The AOBF added two new balloons for this year’s event, making a grand total of 29 balloons scheduled to launch.
Along with the balloons, a Penske racecar will be located on site at the entrance gate Friday and Saturday for patrons to look at. Penske sponsors three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and two-time winner Juan Pablo Montoya. They also support Will Power who was the 2014 INDYCAR Series Championship and currently third in championship points and Simon Pagenaud who is first in championship points.
The URE stage is slated to have national acts, musician Bret Michaels and country music artist Cassadee Pope.
Michaels is set to kick-off the AOBF Thursday at 8 p.m. All preferred and VIP tickets are sold out, but there are still a few general admission tickets available. General admission tickets are $30 at the gate. Tickets for the concert cost $20 if bought online by today.
QFM 96’s Jerry Elliot will emcee the Michaels concert on Thursday. The radio station will also conduct an interview with the musician Thursday morning.
Pope will perform Friday at 8 p.m. There are five VIP meet-and-greet and six preferred-seating tickets available. With the exception of VIP and preferred seating, people who buy weekend balloon fest passes for $10 can watch the concert at no additional cost. Joe Boxer from the country-music station 92.3 WCOL will emcee Friday night.
There is also a $5 fee for parking and exact change is appreciated.
Children will have a space of their own. Sam Jackson Kidz City will have five bouncy houses and a balloon artist for children 12 and under. Two ninja turtles and batman will also be roaming the balloon fest grounds so children can have pictures taken with the characters. Children can enjoy these activities Friday and Saturday from 2-8 p.m. for $10.
The event could not go on without the help of Honda Marysville, Honda of America, Richwood Bank, Memorial Health, URE Electric, Union County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Heritage Cooperative, Meijer, Blackburns Chimney Service, DP&L, Coughlin Auto, WECU/Pathways, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Jackson’s Collision Service, Ameriprise Financial Joie Hanley, Remax, McDonald’s, Benny’s Pizza, Wal-Mart, Miller Lite, Comfort Inn, Comfort Xpress, Parade, 92.3WCOL and Dave’s Pharmacy because they have either donated time to volunteer or sponsors of the event. Visit AllOhioBalloonFest.com for more information.