At left is a snapshot of the lead item in the Google news Directories early Saturday: Headline Surfer called into question legitimacy of attendance figures promoted by local print media in advance of the three-day New Smyrna Beach Balloon & Sky Fest. DAYTONA BEACH -- If there was any hope of the New Smyrna Beach Balloon & Sky Fest living up to the attendance hype in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the opening Friday night cancellation puts the predicted 50,000 attendance figure to rest.
There's still a possibility that with gusting winds, the manned hot air balloons might not float their way down to the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport during the exected 7 a.m. hour, if the winds are gusting.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne is calling for winds today to be coming out of the Northeast at 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Strong winds were a problem for last year's balloon festival.
Balloon festival organizers clearly state on their website that following at the bottom of the page for the scedule of events: "* All hot-air balloon activities are VERY wind sensitive. The balloons can NOT inflate or fly if the winds are more than 8 MPH (it can be dangerous). We will make every effort to have balloons inflated and flying as much of the weekend as possible, but we can't control the weather."
The Daytona Beach News-Journal along with signature sponsor Brighthouse Networks are major advertisers for the event, subsidized by taxpayer funded CRA, advertising authority and Bert Fish Hospital in New Smyrna Beach and Halifax Health Hospital in Daytona Beach.
Previous Coverage:
Opening Friday night for New Smyrna Beach Balloon & Sky Fest cancelled due to rainy weather