May 2000
your idea become an ul-
tra-successful,long-lastingevent.Well
that’sexactlywhatWalter W. Grishkot,
ExecutiveDirectorof the Adirondack Bal-
loonFestival, has realized for the last27
years. His idea of hosting a balloon festi-
val inUpstate New Yorkhas become an
event that draws more than 100,000 spec-
tators tothe region each Fall.
In 1972, Walt was doing publicity for
WarrenCountyandtheGlensFalls-Lake
George region. He heard about a balloonist
inVermont,JohnMarsdon, whohadvis-
ited the then-new balloon festival in Albu-
querque, New Mexico. Walt explained, “I
went over tomeet with him. I said thisis
great,doyouthinkwecouldgetsome
balloons together and have a little festival.
That first year, we got 18 balloons. People
said,“whendotheballoonsfly?”Itold
themtheyflyat6:30A.M.Theyasked,
“who’sgoingtobethere?”I toldthemI
don’tknow, but we’re goingtodo it any-
way. Thatfirst morning, asI wentupthe
road,I sawafewtaillights.You could count
them, ahundred, maybe a hundred and fifty
people.Sowhathappenstodayisthou-
sandsof people come in the morning and
then they leave and come back again in the
afternoon.”
One ofthe thingsthatWalt ismost
proudof, isthattheeventis all free, it’s
non-commercial, the concessions are run
bylocalorganizations,theLions,the
Rotary,studentassociations,thepolice
department,andsoon.Thefestivalis
organizedandrunbyvolunteers.“You
don’t open the front page of the program
and see all the heads of all the offices and
allthedirectors,we’rejustnicepeople
that make it work.”
AnotherGrishkotinventionisthe
Intercontinental Race. Walt worked with
the balloon festival in Gatineau, Canada,
andcameupwiththeideaofhavinga
Canadian-Americanfriendshiprace.“It
was very successful, the Canadians would
come down and we’d havehare-an-hound
andwewouldgoupthere.The
Japanese heardaboutthe race andliked
theideaof buildingfriendshipbetween
nations with balloons. They asked if they
couldbe partof it. So, we went toSaga
Japanfortheworldchampionships. The
Japanese suggested that the friendly com-
petitio nbecalledtheIntercontinental
Race,sinceithadexpandedtothetwo
continents.Thus,theIntercontinental Race
wasborn.Thefirstrace wasoverthere
thatyear,lastyeartheracewasheldat
Gatineau,andthisyearwe’rethehost
nation.”
Despitethe havoc ofHurricaneFloyd
justdaysbeforetheevent,thisyear’s
festivalhadnearly100balloonspartici-
pating. Leading the shaped balloons, was
the “Polar Bear Balloon,” piloted by Bob
Romaneschi of Phoenix,Arizona.A com-
mercial pilotsince 1984, this wasBob’s
secondappearance atthefestival.Other
shaped balloons included: the “Brut Actif
Blue”andthe“PurplePeopleEater.”
Bennett Schwontkowski of Palatine, Illi-
nois, braved the weather to bring his AOL
sponsoredballoonteamtotheevent.
Bennett explained, “we’re doing a tour of
100differen tcommunitiesacrossthe
timesinthe last tenyears, andthisismy
favorite festival inthe whole country.”
AnotheruniqueAdirondackevent
was the Saturday evening Moon Glow on
the shores of Lake George, organizedby
Ralph Bleck of Clinton,NewJersey.Ralph
owns one of the largest balloon ride com-
paniesinthecountry,with11balloons.
His idea was to synchronize music to the
glow of six balloons, similar tosynchro-
nized fireworks displays. The event drew
huge crowds and was atremendoussuc-
cess.Crowdfavorites includedthe1812
Overture and many classic marches.
Lake Georgeiswellknownasa re-
sortarea.Tourismisthe majorindustry
du rin gth esu mm ermo n th s.Wal t
Grishkot’s vision of a balloonfestivalin
1972 has extended the tourist season well
into September. His enthusiasm is conta-
gious;it’sobvioushowhe hasinspired
thecommunitytovolunteer andsupport
such a major undertaking, every year, for
27 years. With his energy and vision, I’m
sure the Adirondack Balloon Festival will
continue to be one of the top shows in the
country, for many yearstocome.
