Okay, the Gatesway Balloon Festival sucks nowadays.
-I realize that only people in my area know what I'm talking about. To start off, "Gatesway is a non-profit Oklahoma agency that provides residential and vocational options and supports people with developmental disabilities" according to Gatesway. Every year Gatesway holds a hot air balloon festival to raise money for their cause. In the glory days of this festival (3 or 4 years ago) there may have been 30 to 40 balloons participating in this event.
-At 7 in the morning the balloons would all ascend together, becoming a stunning sight for spectators and photographers. Pictures taken during this time were amazing, and often more than five balloons were grouped together. A picture of this can be found on the festival's website (gateswayfestival.com) in the bottom right corner. The park where it took place was full of crafts and activities, and there were small amusement park type rides for children. After sunset, all the balloons would light their fires, making the balloons glow. It was remarkable.
-This year, the festival took place in what can only be discribed as a field (it was similar to my grandma's horse pasture) behind a casino (Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino! -cheezy grin-). There may have been 20 balloons participating, though many of them were advertising balloons covered in company logos, and not very pretty. All but 3 that never left the ground took off at a separate location that the public wasn't informed of and flew over and around the field. Only 2 landed in the field successfully, the others couldn't get close enough due to winds. The affair, scheduled at 7 o'clock, started at 7:30 and lasted about an hour. All balloons were very spread out, with only a few in the sky at once. No crafts or activities were available, only scattered junk food stands.
-I have pictures from this event, but they aren't very spectacular, due to circumstances beyond my control. Sorry for such a dull update. I took some pictures in Disneyland and San Francisco this summer, but they're pretty touristy and I figured no one would care. I hope I'll be able to take less mediocre ones next time.
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