BACKGROUND:
In 2022, the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival celebrated its 8 th Anniversary bringing a kaleidoscope of color, sound, art, and enjoyment as the hot air balloons launch and fill the Coachella Valley sky with their majestic presence. It is an opportunity for families to cherish shared memories that will last a lifetime as they experience the beauty of these airships sailing above our desert oasis. The festival welcomes balloon pilots and their crews from across the United States and around the world. It has enjoyed balloons coming from England, Canada, and Thailand.
The festival is owned by the City of Cathedral City and managed and produced by Steve and Cindy Wilkinson of Fantasy Balloon Flights, a Palm Desert tourism company. Besides featuring an average of 30 hot air balloons, the festival also includes the best food truck cuisine in Southern California; Balloon Glow and Music at our host hotel, Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa (Rancho Mirage), and in Downtown Cathedral City; LIVE music at the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater and at Agua Caliente Casino – Cathedral City; morning balloon launches in Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage; Classic Car Show; Art Show; Kid Zone; and Special Shapes Sunday at Big League Dreams Sports Park in Cathedral City.
DISCUSSION:
The City of Cathedral City applied for and was awarded the Greater Palm Springs (GPS) Tourism Grant to fund the expansion of the special shape hot air balloons coming to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in 2022, in the amount of $17,500.00. This grant required a City match in the same dollar amount. The City has already received the funding from the GPS Tourism Grant, however, due to the transition period of the Communications & Events Manager position between the previous and current employee, staff was unable to bring this item to the City Council for acceptance until this time. For Council’s information, special shape balloons are entertainment balloons shaped to a favorite character or recognizable pop culture icon, such as a honeybee, a Tweety bird, and/or a pirate ship. Special shape balloons cost more than regular balloons as they are in demand from many balloon festivals throughout the year and often must travel from other states or countries. The cost to bring a special shape balloon to a festival averages about $3,000.00 per balloon. The festival invited 12 special shape balloons in addition to the existing 10 that are invited each year.
The festival has grown over its short time span from attracting several thousand attendees locally from its inception in 2015 to bringing in over 25,000 attendees regionally, and more importantly, more than 50% of the attendees from outside of the Coachella Valley.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The $17,500.00 match for the GPS Tourism Grant was funded from the General Fund (100) special events budget.