Balloonfest '86 is a 1986 show where United Way of Cleveland in Ohio set a world record by releasing nearly one and a half million balloons. The event was intended to be a non-hazardous fundraising publicity event, but balloons hovered over towns, Lake Erie and land in the surrounding area, and caused trouble for nearby traffic and airports. The event also disrupted the search for a US coastguard for two sailors who were later found drowned. Therefore, organizers and cities face lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages, and the cost swelling makes the event a net loss.
Video Balloonfest '86
Preparation
The action was coordinated by Balloonart by Treb, a Los Angeles-based company led by Treb Heining, who spent six months preparing it. A rectangular block-sized urban block structure measuring 250 feet (76 m) by 150 feet (46 m) and rising as high as three levels, covered by a one piece web of woven mesh material, was erected to hold the balloon, in the southwest quadrant of the Common Field in Cleveland. Inside the structure, 2,500 students and other volunteers spend hours filling balloons with helium. United Way originally planned to release two million balloons, but eventually stopped at more than 1.4 million balloons. Children sell sponsorships to benefit United Way at $ 1 for every two balloons.
Maps Balloonfest '86
Launch
On Saturday, September 27, 1986, with a rainstorm approaching, the committee decided to issue the balloon earlier at around 1:50 am. EDT. Nearly 1.5 million balloons rose from Cleveland's Public Square, circling the Terminal Tower and surpassing the world record set a year earlier on Disneyland's 30th anniversary.
Consequences
Usually, a latex balloon containing helium that is released outdoors will stay on top long enough to completely deflate before descending to Earth. However, Balloonfest balloons collided with the cold front and rain and fell to the ground, still expanding, clogging the land and waters of Northeast Ohio. In the days after the event, the balloon was reported to be stranded on the Canadian side of Lake Erie.
Two fishermen, Raymond Broderick and Bernard Sulzer, who left on September 26, were reported missing by their families on the day of the event. Rescue workers watched their 16 feet (4.9 m) boat dock west of the Edgewater Park breakwall. Coast Guard helicopter guards and rescuers have trouble reaching the area due to the "asteroid" field of balloons. A crew of search and rescue crews tried to see the fishermen floating on the lake, but Garda officials said balloons in the water made it impossible to see if anyone was in the lake. On September 29, Coast Guard suspended his search. The bodies of the fishermen then stranded on the beach. The wife of one of the fishermen sued United Way of Cleveland and the company that arranged balloon release for $ 3.2 million and then settled on an undisclosed term.
The balloon that landed in a meadow in Medina County, Ohio, frightened the Arab horses of Louise Nowakowsk, who allegedly suffered permanent injuries as a result. Nowakowsk sued United Way of Cleveland for $ 100,000 in damages and set an undisclosed condition.
The Burke Lakefront airport had to close the runway for half an hour after the balloon landed there. Traffic accidents are also reported "because drivers are swerving to avoid slow storm bursts from colorful balls or take their eyes off the road to gawk at the spectacle above."
References
External links
- Balloonfest on Vimeo
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments