RE/MAX Ballunar Liftoff Festival Blasts Off

Houston, TX – August 16, 2005 – More fun than a three-ring circus, the 13th annual RE/MAX Ballunar Liftoff Festival, presented by Schepps Dairy, descends onto the NASA/Johnson Space Center this Friday evening for a weekend of hot air balloon competitions, aerial acrobatics, and family entertainment.

“From the earliest form of flight-the hot air balloon-to the technological marvels of modern space flight, this festival celebrates it all,” said Steve Lombardi, the festival’s co-founder and director of airflight operations. “Approximately 100 giant balloons will engage in weekend-long navigational competitions, including mass glows at dusk and mass ascensions at dawn.”

The festival offers a NASA Mini-Tour on Saturday from 9:00am-5:00pm, visiting Astronaut Training Facilities, and actual NASA Astronauts will be available for autograph signings from 11am-3pm. Live musical entertainment features MAX-Q, the Astronaut band, along with several top local music groups, and approximately 50 skydivers in various formations.

“The Houston Hang Gliding Association will fill the skies with hang-gliders, para-gliders, and powered parachutes, and the NASA/Houston Model Rocket Club will put on some awesome performances,” Lombardi continued. “Our children’s carnival midway features great rides and attractions, including the world’s largest inflatable slide. Entry is just $10 per vehicle, which includes the NASA Mini-Tour and free onsite parking, so families can bring the entire neighborhood for about the price of a movie ticket.”
 


 
Ballunar Liftoff Festival, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Its mission is to help the public learn about aviation and space exploration, and to sponsor and fund educational activities that encourage young people to learn about aviation and space and to study mathematics and the sciences.