While the budget is sinking lower, the balloons will soar as high as ever at the Fourth Annual Cascade of Colors balloon festival this weekend, an event spokeswoman says.

Sherry Jeschke, executive secretary to the airport manager at Southern Illinois Airport, said the event is being downsized in an attempt to be more cost-efficient than it has been in past years.

We just don’t want to lose money on the event again, she said of the event that takes place at the Southern Illinois Airport, located off Route 13 west of town. We have lost money in the past; we just want to come closer to breaking even.

While the balloons are often sponsored, Jeschke said the individual events in the past were not, leading to the loss in revenue. There’s a lack of sponsorship in this area. I suppose with a lot of other things going on around the same time causes a lack of sponsors, she said. In the past we’ve had the fireworks, and the insurance and permits we have to have for those, and administrative costs. There are a lot of costs that aren’t involved with the balloons.

Jeschke said that because of these expenses, some activities will not take place this year.

In the past there’s been quite a few things:craft booths, vendor booths, a trampoline, a little carnival there’s not going to be any of that, she said. There is going to be food booths, beer and wine booths and, of course, the balloons.

While the cuts will mean fewer entertainment options, Jeschke added that fewer choices is exactly what organizers want.

We want the event to be about the balloons, she said.

The very first year of the festival when the (Southern Illinois Airport) manager wanted to bring a balloon event to the airport, the goal was to raise community awareness of hot air balloons, to get people involved in that aspect of aviation. Hopefully this year we will get back to that.

Jeschke said there will be fewer balloons this year, but she expects the crowd to be about the same it was last year.

There is a possibility of 21, but more than likely just 20. In past years they’ve had between 35 and 50, so this year it’s smaller, she said. We had about 10,000 people last year, and hope to have the same this year.

Jeschke said other cost-cutting attempts have been made. In an attempt to bring food-service costs down, event organizers unsuccessfully tried to get local clubs to come and sell their food.

We tried to go with some local clubs instead of going with fair-type trailers, she said. But there aren’t that many civic clubs around here that were willing to come out and sell food.

Wil LaPointe, a Collinsville, Okla., resident, has been flying balloons for about nine years. He competes in about 25 ballooning events across the country each year. He has participated in the Cascade of Colors since its genesis in 1994, and will be there this year as well.

LaPointe said he always has a good time in Carbondale, but he believes the balloon festival has not yet reached its quality potential.

It needs a little work. It’s getting along right now, but it needs community support, he said. You’ve got an excellent facility there to make it work, but you do need to get a flow of people coming through there. You need community support.

LaPointe said local sponsors should get involved in the event because it can bring their businesses quite a bit of revenue if the event becomes large enough to draw people from other areas.

There are people who will travel great distances to see the balloons, he said. I spend on the average $250 per trip, either in the community, getting fuel or other things. So it is a benefit to the community to have the balloon event.

LaPointe said eliminating the major activities that surround the ballooning may not affect event attendees in a positive manner.

I don’t know that it will be good for everybody, some people come out for the other things, he said. The balloons can’t fly any time of day, they’re not like airplanes. They can fly in the early morning, and early evening that’s it. That (the carnival and other events) is something to get the crowd to do while waiting for the balloons.

LaPointe added that the balloonists also will miss the extra-balloonular activities.

The carnival event is great for the balloonists themselves; it’s something we can do during the day, he said. I enjoy having the action going on, making it a full-fledged festival.

However, LaPointe said orienting the event solely around the balloons is a concept that can work if approached correctly. Some of the other (balloon) events (across the country) have gotten quite elaborate, and some are just for the balloons. Those just for the balloons do well if that is how they are promoted and advertised, he said. Focusing it on the balloons is good if the community support is there.

While the Cascade of Colors has lost money in past years, LaPointe said event organizers, as well as local balloon enthusiasts, should not deflate.

There was one event in Greenwood, Miss., that lost money the first couple years, and within seven years it was making hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said. With community support, the Carbondale area could be a pretty good Mecca for ballooning.

FACTOID:The entry fee this year will be $1; toddlers and children in strollers are free. For more information call 529-2357. Southern Illinois Airport is located off of Route 13 between Murphysboro and Carbondale.

Friday:Gates Open 4 p.m.

Music DJ and balloon announcer on stage

Pilot/crew/sponsor briefing 4 p.m.

Balloons launch from airport 5 to 5:30 p.m.

Sponsor party at airport terminal 7 p.m.

Gates Close 8 p.m.

Saturday Morning:Gates Open 6 a.m.

Music DJ and balloon announcer on stage

Pilot/crew/sponsor briefing 6 a.m.

Balloons launch into airport for pole grab 7 a.m.

Gates Close 10 a.m.

Gates open 4 p.m.

Music DJ and balloon announcer on stage

Pilot/crew briefing 4 p.m.

Balloons launch from airport 5 to 5:30 p.m.

Live band Four on the Floor

Balloon Glow 8:15 p.m.

Gates close 10 p.m.

Sunday Morning:Gates open 6 a.m.

Music and DJ announcer on stage

Pilot/crew briefing 6 a.m.

Balloons launch into airport 7 a.m.

Awards party (airport terminal) 9 a.m.

Gates close 10 a.m.