All Ohio Balloon Festival — Local services in Marysville

Would give it 0 star but not available. First of all the event is enclosed in a small area surrounded by beer and food trucks. I called and asked if any food or water could be brought into the event and I was told no because they have a liquor license. That is a lie because going to a Cincinnati Reds or Bengals game they serve liquor but allow for unopened water bottles and various snacks to be brought in. Peanuts, cookies, popcorn and sandwiches are all allowed. It's just a money grab for the Balloon Fest. Second of all, the ads for the balloon fest clearly state that weather can cancel the balloon part of the fest. When I attended on Saturday August 13, the weather was cloudy most of the day. Some light rain occurred about 7pm. No high winds, no lighting, no hail, nothing severe. The fest officials canceled the balloon launch scheduled for 6pm because , and I quote " there was a storm 70- 80 miles away that could have lightning and might collapse creating a danger to the balloons." They made no public announcement of this to the crowd. The only way that I found out was through the rumors in the crowd. The fest officials DID NOT keep the attendees informed at all. As a trained weather spotter, I checked multiple radars from KCLE, KILN and KFTW with no sign of lighting being detected. I showed my findings to the Wicked crew and said that the excuse given was not valid. They stated the it was a " very borderline decision" not to launch. Then I asked, why could they inflate the balloons and tether them so the attendees could see them inflated. Received no response. (NOTE: At the time the Remax balloon was giving rides on their tethered balloon) Finally, I made the comment that I probably took more of chance driving to the event with the the way people drive now days, then they would be taking in lifting the balloons off. The pilot just shook his head. Finally, I called the weather forecast offices to see in their opinion did the weather of Saturday August 13, present a clear and present danger to the balloons or pilots and the answer was a resounding no. They would not have recommend going above 3000ft agl but something in the 500-1500 foot range was not a issue. The only lightning detected with the so called storm was over the Ohio Michigan border and over LE ( Lake Erie.) Very disappointing event to attend. The ticket cost. gas cost. time spent and trapped in a food and drink truck setting. Will not attend again. Would recommend that...

The other reviewers you see posted directly below make accurate statements.

This event was named the "Marysville Balloon Fest" before the name was changed to the "All Ohio Balloon Fest," but the organizers must believe only Marysville residents attend. We saw only one sign after we left Route 33 to direct us, which told us to take a certain road to attend the festival. If we were from out of town (which we were) how would we even know where that road was? No directions to that road were given.

We pressed on anyway, and finally found an entrance to park. As the other reviewers indicated, $5 to park and then $10 per person to get in, for the opportunity to spend even more money for vendors or bi-plane rides inside. Not enough to keep you occupied at the Balloon Fest until the balloons arrive at 6:30 pm, so we left.

Again, no signs on how to exit the parking lot. We followed the dusty trail to the exit until we were stopped by a sullen security guard who pulled up on a motorized cart, put up his hand, and spoke to us as if we were children.

"You need to follow the green vests to exit the lot!"

When we explained that there were no "green vests" or anyone else to direct us, he challenged us, "I doubt that."

He went on to say, "I don't work for them. I don't care."

Unless you would like experiences like these, the other reviewers are...

A great place to go if you don't want to see balloons. Half the vendors, in addition to the parking, are cash only. This even inexplicably includes the title sponsor, who "helpfully" told me I could use an ATM on site to withdraw cash - no doubt at such ridiculous fees that it would double the price of the pizza and drink. The Filipino food vendor, whose food was quite wonderful, had internet problems that should have been addressed by the festival operations, but they were nowhere to be found. I had to paypal her the money for my meal. The festival grounds themselves are basically just a parking lot at the airport with some food trucks and a stage. The one bright spot of this rinky dink "festival" (where I saw exactly zero of the things it is named after) were the bands. The bands were really quite excellent and deserved a better venue than this. Old, noisy planes constantly interrupted the musicians. Only came to see the Wallflowers, so I probably...