Even with moving the Antelope Island Balloon & Kite Stampede up by three weeks, weather still reared its ugly head, at times, over the weekend.
But balloons were joined by myriad, colorful kites, this time around, as organizers tried to overcome the apparent issue Mother Nature has had with the festival during its previous two official and one “soft” first year.
“We think we brought almost 20,000 people to the island” thanks to the event, said Davis Area Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Barbara Riddle. “It worked out perfectly, because we had times when it was calm and beautiful, great for the balloon flying, and times when the wind kicked right in, and the kites were absolutely breath-taking.
“We had balloon flights that came from the north side of the island Friday night. It was gorgeous,” she said of the “glows,” of the night-time balloon spectacles.
There were nine balloonists plus professional kiteists from Texas, San Diego and San Francisco, Calif., as well as Utah.
“It was an outstanding event for the island,” said Ron Taylor, manager of Antelope Island State Park. And while weather allowed for only three successful balloon launches out of a potential five during the 2 1/2 day event, he spoke favorably of the event.
“This year we saw something quite different,” Taylor said. “Maybe because of the holiday (Labor Day weekend), or weather, a lot came out not just for the event and then didn’t just go back to the mainland.
“(Many) stayed, visited the visitor center, the (Fielding Garr) ranch, the beach, other park areas,” he said.
“They actually seemed to be staying and enjoying the whole experience, rather than just coming for the event and going home,” Taylor emphasized.
“I think the (average) length of stay (on the island) was much longer. And with the expansion of the kites as an element or feature of the event, I think that added a lot.
“There were more things going in the middle of the day that allowed people to linger and stay, without having a lull in the action,” Taylor said.
Those events varied from a pie eating contest to a nature walk hosted by Bill Fenimore, Farmington birder and author.
“We did have a little bit of (windy) weather, and I think visitors understand that as well,” Taylor said, referring to the sometimes unique weather the island can have, especially as it can be influenced by the lake surrounding it.
“I was very impressed with the balloonists and kiteists,” he said. “They did everything they could so customers got something for their money.”
“It was great to have the professional kite-flyers here. But it was so exhilarating and warmed our hearts to see so many families, young kids flying kites,” Riddle said.
“One of the highlights, on Saturday, we had the bol racing kites, round kites, of different sizes. They stacked them on, and the bigger you were, the bigger the kite. They would race, and whoever won would win a kite,” she said.
There were nine balloons to schools visits during the week, at schools from Bountiful to North Davis.
“My hat goes off to the balloonists and kiteists, as well as for the hard work done by my staff and the stampede committee, to make sure we had a great event,” Taylor said.
Vaughn Jacobsen was the chair of the stampede committee, sponsored by the Davis Chamber of Commerce. Davis County, the Davis Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and State Parks.
The event also had a wide range of sponsors.
“Visitation was up a lot. All indications are that it was extremely strong,” Taylor said, although final numbers had not been tallied as of Monday morning.
That strong showing continues a trend of ever-more visitors coming to the island throughout the year. That includes many international visitors, who have often learned about the Great Salt Lake in school or otherwise.
“This event was put on by a group of volunteers. There’s no way this would happen without the dedication of people who get nothing out of it personally,” Riddle said early Monday afternoon.
“This morning, the committee was up at 6:30 picking up garbage (off the island) so we could leave the state park in the pristine condition we found it.”
tbusselberg@davisclipper.com
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