TUSTIN : Balloon Fest Billed as Biggest on Coast

A seven-story-tall, hot-air balloon was inflated Tuesday at City Hall as part of a kickoff announcement for Smith’s Festival of Ballooning, a family-oriented fair scheduled Sept. 23-25 at Tustin Ranch and billed as the largest balloon festival ever on the West Coast.

Event organizer John Korff said that about 125 balloons will float over Tustin in the early morning and late afternoon each day. There will also be nighttime balloon “glows,” in which tethered balloons are illuminated from within by bursts of flame.

When word initially began to circulate about the event, some Tustin Ranch residents were concerned that the balloons--which are inflated by air that is heated by flame from propane canisters--would present a fire hazard. Worries were also expressed about traffic jams, crime, litter and noise.

Most of the protests faded away, however, when the festival site was moved farther away from a residential area, and a parking lot for the event, which was to be next to homes, was eliminated. In addition, organizers said the crowd will be limited to 35,000 spectators at any time.

The festival will be held on a 30-acre site bounded by Tustin Ranch Road, Jamboree Road and Portola Parkway. The triangular-shaped, undeveloped parcel is owned by the Irvine Co., which is a major sponsor of the event, along with Salt Lake City-based Smith’s Food & Drug Centers Inc.

“Now that the logistics have been worked out, I think it will be an outstanding way to showcase the community,” Councilman Jim Potts said at the festival announcement ceremony Tuesday.

“We’re really excited about it,” Councilwoman Tracy Worley said. “We welcome the festival and hope it will be an annual event.”

Korff emphasized that the three-day festival will be a family-oriented affair with children’s activities, fund-raising opportunities for local charities, arts and crafts, and performances by the Beach Boys, America, Randy Travis and various “oldies” bands.