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PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — County residents will miss out on yet another summer tradition, as organizers announced on Monday that this year’s Crown of Maine Balloon Fest had been canceled.
The festival, originally planned from Aug. 27 to 30 in Presque Isle, was canceled because of health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, festival chairman Floyd Rockholt said in a statement.
The festival committee made its decision based on recommendations from the state and Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said. Organizers did not feel comfortable asking for sponsorship from local businesses and organizations struggling under a pandemic economy, he added.
While the balloon festival will not occur as it usually does, there are plans to hold unspecified events on the Aug. 27-30 weekend. He said information on those events will be forthcoming.
The letter said that vendors would be refunded and complimentary vendor spaces honored for 2021.
Rockholt and other organizers are already working to make next year’s festival a memorable one. The 2021 festival will take place from Aug. 26-29, 2021.
The Crown of Maine Balloon Festival celebrates the transatlantic crossing of the Double Eagle II, which was launched from Presque Isle in August 1978 and eventually made its way to Miserey, France, more than five days later.
