2021 Great Falls Balloon Festival Cancelled

While it does look like the Summer of 2021 will be a lot more "normal" than the Summer of 2020, clearly things will be different this year.  Over the last few weeks, we have seen several events announce that they will definitely take place in 2021.  However, even though it is still early spring, the organizers of others have already announced they plan to air on the side of caution and cancel for 2021.

Earlier today (April 7th), we learned that another event had pulled the plug for 2021.

For the second year in a row, the Great Falls Balloon Festival has been cancelled due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic.

According to a post on the event's Facebook page, the uncertainty of where the State of Maine will be (pandemic-wise) this summer caused the cancellation of the event, which normally attracts 100,000 visitors over the course of the three day event.

The post said, in part:

Please understand there are multiple factors that have contributed to this unanimous decision to cancel. It is our mission to help create a platform for non-profits to raise funds and to bring tourism to Lewiston/Auburn. Our event can easily see up to 100,000 visitors over the three-day event, so even with recent changes in our mandates, it would be an extreme challenge to keep everyone safe.

As with every event cancelled in 2021, the hope is that it will return in 2022.

According to Wikipedia, the event, which has been held since 1993, uses several parks along the Androscoggin River as staging areas for dozens of hot air balloons.  The event was created as a way to raise money for local non-profits and to celebrate the Lewiston / Auburn area.