A message from 2012 Lift-Off spokesman Michael Galvin Speaking on behalf of the board we are all very happy with the response of the festival goers. The weather was perfect and all of the scheduled balloon flights left the Computer Sense Launch Field on time and flew right over the city! There was always a good crowd of specta- tors on hand to see the launches, even for the morning flights! On the launch field I talked with people from all over that were amazed at what they were seeing. The T-Rex taking to the air on Saturday Night was a real crowd pleaser, along with his tethered dis- play during the Burton Cummings concert. It is amazing to look at the Facebook pages from Cornwall and see all the great photos of the event that people are posting! We had all sorts of daytime events this year that were also very well received. These included the War of 1812 Re-enactment, the CAS Family Fun Zone, the Dynamic Closures Roll for $50,000, the Pommier Jewelers Sift-Off for Lift-Off event, the DockDogs® Champi- onships, the Classic Car Show (which drew over 50 vehicles), and the Kinsmen Bingo for Seniors on Sunday morning. The turnout for the bands was also very good. The Thursday night crowd was a little lighter than we anticipated, but traditionally Thursdays are the smallest nights. The peo- ple that did attend however loved the enter- tainment and the bands put on a great show! The park was certainly much fuller for Bur- ton Cummings and I have received some great feedback from people that travelled from as far as New Brunswick and Toronto to take in that event. We had a similar reach for the Saturday night show and it was very well received. Overall the board is pleased with the turnout. We were very pleased that we had three diverse crowds on three differ- ent nights, which speaks to the fantastic job done our Entertainment Directors. Cornwall should be very proud of the jobs everyone did as host to our out of town vis- itors. TeamCornwall and Pommier Jewelers paired up to present all the pilots with a wel- coming gift that was very well received. Mr. Burton Cummings mentioned several times what a great meal and hospitality he had re- ceived at Casa Paolo Ristorante Italiano! Every visitor I spoke to had a story about howwell they were treated. From the bands that went golfing to the balloon pilots that were invited by a local cycling group to go on a 60 km bike ride along the St. Lawrence, everyone pitched in to be good hosts and ambassadors for our city! Soaring to new heights
Clockwise, from top: A balloon sails over the crowd at the eastern edge of the launch field Saturday evening at Lamoureux Park; the montrous T-Rex sails over a tree lining the launch field - the last balloon to take off Saturday; volunteer Nick Poitras secures a line holding a balloon being inflated on the ground; a ground crew strains to keep a basket planted until the pilot is ready for launch.
Photos by Greg Kielec
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