Labor Day Lift-Off balloon festival wraps up on Monday at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A big crowd arrived early on Monday morning for the final day of the annual Labor Day Lift-Off balloon festival, but many left disappointed when the balloons didn't launch as scheduled.
KRDO13 is reviewing highlights of the event over the holiday weekend.
On Sunday evening, side streets were so filled with parked vehicles that it was difficult for anyone to drive through; many drivers had to back up so that other traffic could pass.
Many spectators had to walk half a mile or more to reach the park.
The manager of a nearby fast-food restaurant complained about spectators parking in the lot, taking away spaces reserved for customers.
Reviewing the festival over the weekend, all of the estimated 70 balloons lifted on Saturday, but windy conditions on Sunday limited the number of launches to ten.
At 7 a.m. Monday -- the scheduled launch time -- organizers announced that lift-offs were on hold because of gusty winds aloft, and at 7:30 a.m., the balloons were grounded.
Organizers told pilots that they could inflate their balloons for the public to see, until around 8:30 a.m.
Gerry Graff, a pilot from Albuquerque, registered in Colorado Springs for the 26th time, and compared the Lift-Off to The International Balloon Fiesta in his city, which has more than 500 balloons annually.
"Albuquerque, from my point of view, is too big," he observed. "70 balloons here is good. We'll be in Pueblo in two weeks. And that's about 22 balloons. So, smaller events are good. They have a little more to offer; a little more camaraderie."
Colorado Springs has had some type of balloon event every Labor Day weekend since the first launch in Black Forest in 1976.
The start of the 2000 COVID pandemic led organizers to spread balloon launchers to various locations across town instead of a single mass event.
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