Press Release

450 People in a Hot Air Balloon = Katrina Relief

Monday, Oct. 17, Shawnee on Delaware, PA. --- On Saturday, October 15 th, after 7 long days of rain, the sun finally shined through on the 21 st Annual Shawnee Fall Foliage Festival. Despite the break in the weather though, strong winds grounded all of the pilots who were scheduled to steer their hot air balloons high into the air and over the Delaware Water Gap. Suddenly, from the midst of the disappointment, arose a very clever and thoughtful idea. The Balloonmeister, Bob Dicks, the gentlemen who was in charge of all of the balloons, decided to allow festival spectators to step into the "envelope" of his balloon as it lay on the ground.   This part of the balloon is the top, cloth-like part that is typically decorated with vibrant colors.  In exchange for this opportunity, the pilot simply asked for a $1.00 donation from everyone who wanted to walk into his balloon.  After this event had ended, a total of $450 was collected from this spur-of-the-moment plan.  The thoughtful Balloonmeister will be donating the money collected to Hands on USA, which is a grassroots organization developed from the Shawnee Institute's tsunami relief work done earlier in the year.  The Shawnee Inn will be presenting the check to Peter Kirkwood, who is currently on the Board of Directions for Hands On USA.   For more information about Hands on USA, to give a donation or to volunteer, please visit www.handsonusa.org.