According to Camberly Anderson, event coordinator for the Kane County Office of Tourism and one of the primary organizers of the Balloons and Tunes event, “Balloons and Tunes 2024 is a wrap with record-breaking event goers.” Anderson and the Office of Tourism’s statement to the paper continues, “[With] beautiful balloon flights on Friday and Sunday mornings and a hopping street fair with toe-tapping tunes at one end and laughter and giggles on the other - and the middle filled with goods to enjoy and yummy eats and treats to fill your belly.”
From left to right:
Photo by Samantha LeFevre, from the SUNews sponsored balloon.
Photo by Susie Barlow.
Photo by Susie Barlow.
Photo courtesy of the Kane County Office of Tourism.
Photo by Gabriel Evans.
Photo courtesy of the Kane County Office of Tourism.
Photo courtesy of the Kane County Office of Tourism.
The 2024 festival did indeed have record breaking numbers, with crowds on all three days of the event, including the doldrums-stricken Saturday morning, when the conditions did not allow the balloons to fly. The street fair had decent conversion of attendance from the balloon launch, with consistent numbers across most of the event in spite of dour weather.
Reviews from attendees were generally positive, but the positioning of the associated street fair and balloon glow did receive some criticisms from locals. Some event attendees reported conflicts between locals and vendors, as well as the positioning of some street fair attractions blocking access to homes. Similar to the new location of Western Legends last year, some Kane County and Office of Tourism staff describe these issues as “a little bit of growing pains,” as event organizers, vendors, entertainers and attendees adapt to the festival’s positioning on the curve of Center Street near the Kanab Center.
Ultimately, in spite of some of the inconveniences inherent to such a change, the public response to the festival was generally positive - one comment on the event’s social media presence summed up fairly well, saying, “I had a good time, I look forward to things getting better in future events.”
The Office of Tourism’s statement expressed their gratitude for the participants of the festival, saying, “We can’t do this event without those businesses that sponsor us and get what it is we’re trying to do. Thanks to our Balloon Meister Bryan Hill and all the work he puts into coordinating with pilots and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to have these balloons fly. So much goes into every aspect of an event of this magnitude. Our team is thrilled it went off with every precaution for safety, and grateful it was a fun and safe weekend!
“Our plans for 2025 are already underway. Our 10th year anniversary was bigger and better than ever, and we hope that with the community’s support, we will continue to grow and bring this event back for another ten years at least.” Readers can follow up with the Balloons and Tunes event on its and Office of Tourism’s social media pages, as well as on visitsouthernutah.com in the events section. Balloons and Tunes’ Facebook page in particular hosts many of the event’s highlight photos and descriptions.
