BY DONNA SWICEGOOD
Nearly two dozen local organizations received a financial boost from Carolina BalloonFest on Tuesday during the nonprofit’s annual Night of Giving Celebration.
A total of $125,000 was handed out to the various charities and organizations. Most of the beneficiaries volunteered their time at the annual balloon rally this fall.
Director Sam Parks said ideal weather at the festival in October made it one of the best in the 49-year history of the event.
“We had three days of near perfect weather. … We sold out all three days,” Parks said at the celebration at the Statesville Civic Center.
The event’s success, he said, is a result of the support of many people — from sponsors and volunteers to the balloonists and the folks who paid the admission fee.
Parks expressed his appreciation to the City of Statesville for its role as the presenting sponsor.
Mayor Costi Kutteh said it was an easy decision for the city to be an important part of the festival. “It is the premier event of our community,” he said.
Kutteh shared an experience he had at this year’s festival to illustrate the importance of the event. He said he and his youngest daughter, Maggie, took a ballon flight and landed on the Iredell County side of the Catawba River.
“We landed and an extended family of about nine people. One person, who was an elder gentleman, was considerably older than I am and the youngest was probably 3 to 4 years old,” he said.
“They had seen the balloons year after year after year. None of them had ever been up to a balloon,” he said.
Kutteh added that the festival attracts visitors from all over the country but these people, who lived a stone’s throw away from the Statesville Regional Airport, got the most unique experience of their lives.
The festival touches a lot of lives, the mayor said, and he is looking forward to that continuing next year as it reaches its 50th anniversary.
While celebrating the success of the 2024 festival, Parks recognized one of the founders of the rally. Bill Meadows, who has written a book about the history of ballooning in Iredell County, was honored with a permanent reminder — the naming of the Bill Meadows Pilot Base Camp at the festival. He was also at the celebration Tuesday and autographed copies of his book.
Parks paid tribute to the board of directors, the sponsors, the landowners that permit balloons to land and the volunteers. He likened the group to the legs of a stool, and said that each was needed to make the stool function as intended.
Most of the organizations benefiting from the festival this year are local, but Parks said, the decision was made to also assist the recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.
Pressly Mattox, the incoming board chair, and Gary Cook, outgoing board chair, presented checks to the various organizations. Those receiving checks were:
♦ Boy Scouts of America Troops 174, 363, 377, 607, 609, 314 and 1373;
♦ Civil Air Patrol Squadron;
♦ Forward Family;
♦ Guardians of the Children Mooresville;
♦ Iredell County Amatuer Radio Society;
♦ Rotary Club of Statesville;
♦ Mitchell Community College Endowment;
♦ Sassy Caps;
♦ Rainbow Kidz;
♦ Statesville Kiwanis Club;
♦ United Way of Iredell County;
♦ Veterans of the Piedmont;
♦ Yokefellow Ministries;
♦ Crosby Scholars;
♦ Crossroads Arts and Science Early College;
♦ Restoration Recovery;
♦ Fifth Street Ministries; and
♦ Hurricane Helene relief.
The board member-designated donations were made to Ostwalt Baptist Church toy and coat drive; Harmony Elementary School Library; Piedmont Animal Rescue; Fifth Street Ministries; Mitchell Community College Beverly Hedrick Scholarship; American Cancer Society in honor of Trish Morrison; Iredell Adult Day Services; Samaritan’s Purse; Beloved Asheville; Balloon Federation of America; Piedmont Folkways; and Samaritan’s Purse.
Parks said this celebration is the embodiment of the mission of the BalloonFest. It’s about giving back to the community, he said.
The Night of Giving wrapped up the year for those involved in the planning and execution of the 2024 festival, but they won’t have much time to celebrate. Planning will begin later this month for the 2025 even, he said.
It’s an important milestone, he said.
“Lots of businesses and organizations don’t reach 49 years,” he said.
The Carolina BalloonFest has done that and is looking forward to celebrating its 50th year in October 2025. The event, Parks said, will honor that history. “Soaring Through the Decades,” will be the theme for 2025.
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