Thousands of students and families from all over Georgia attended Kennesaw State’s fourth annual Owl-O-Ween, a hot air balloon festival staged at the Fifth Third Bank Stadium on the evenings of Oct. 21 and 22.
On the first day of Owl-O-Ween, the stadium and the surrounding grounds were packed with vendors, sponsor booths and costumed entertainment troupes. Crowds of people wandered through the booths in heavy winter coats and Halloween costumes, enjoying the fall atmosphere and attractions in the hours before the main balloon showcase.
“I’ve never been to a hot air balloon fest,” said Allison Bashaw, a sophomore early childhood education major. “It’s so exciting.”
Many of the festival attendees said they had made the annual festival a yearly tradition, including Danny Fuller, a KSU alum who majored in theatre and performance studies.
“The balloons are definitely what I came for this year,” Fuller said. “But the festival is always a cool thing to do in the fall.”
Fuller mentioned that some of the other attractions, particularly the music playing through the loudspeakers and the live bands, could be improved next year.
“I will say that the music could be more current,” Fuller said. “They’re playing songs that were popular years ago. They don’t really seem to know what demographic to play for.”
The number of families at the festival outnumbered the students by far, but freshman journalism student Katrina Wall said she still enjoyed the family-oriented attractions.
“I think it’s really nice having things for kids to do as well as students,” Wall said. “My friends and I are going to do the bouncy slide.”
Inclement weather and high winds later in the night prevented many of the hot air balloons from launching, which was a disappointment for many of the attendees.
“Last year there were so many balloons,” said KSU alum Matthew Ryan. “The festival would be better if the hot air balloons were actually flying.”
Senior nursing major Victoria Lescota also expressed her disappointment with the weather.
“I wish they could’ve told us that there would not be many hot air balloons tonight,” Lescota said.
The festival did manage to launch several balloons later in the evening, prompting cheers from attendees. Crowds of people gathered together with their families and friends to watch the main attractions, which were kept at a safe altitude, low and close to the field.
