Cathedral City
March 21, 2022
Ms. Davis Meyer
Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation
70100 Highway 111
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
RE: GPS Tourism Grant - Updated
Dear Ms. Meyer:
Please accept this application from the City of Cathedral City for a $17,500 GPS Tourism Grant by the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation to build upon the successful Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival and Food Truck Fiesta presented by Agua Caliente Casinos during the third weekend each November.
Project Description
In 2022, the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival will celebrate its 8th 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 crew 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.
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.
68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero • Cathedral City • California • 92234 www.cathedralcity.gov REVELED PATR
Grant Utilization
The City of Cathedral City would like to utilize the GPS Tourism Grant to fund the expansion of special shape hot air balloons coming to the festival which will help elevate the festival to new heights. 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 the festival averages about $3,000 per balloon. The festival would like to add an additional 12 special shape balloons to its existing 10 invited each year.
Enhance Visitor Experience
Looking at the success of other hot air balloon festivals, special shape balloons are the number one element to increase attendance and overall festival satisfaction. People remember the multi-color balloons, but they fall in love with the special shape balloons. It is often those balloons that get the most selfies and social media shares.
The Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival wants to bring an additional twelve special shape balloons to fly across the Coachella Valley and to light up the sky during the nightly balloon glows in November 2022. We believe this has the potential to increase attendance by at least 25%.
Accounting Detail
To fully account for the additional twelve special shape balloons, the City of Cathedral City will issue payment to each special shape balloon owner directly in the amount of $1,500 to pay for their special shape balloon appearance during the balloon festival. The City will provide the foundation with a detailed list of the name of each balloon, its description, the balloon entry payment, as well as the name of the owner or person who received payment to bring the special shape balloon to the festival.
Additionally, the City of Cathedral City will issue an additional payment of $1,500 per special shape balloon associated with the GPS Tourism Grant to Fantasy Balloon Flights for their additional costs of procuring each balloon during the festival. This would include their additional costs of pilot and crew hotel stays, pilot and crew meals, balloon fuel (propane) for flights and balloon glows, chase crew operations and equipment, and insurance.
Within 30 days at the conclusion the festival, the City of Cathedral City will provide an Excel spreadsheet to the Foundation detailing the information above along with an invoice for the 50% reimbursement upon successful conclusion of the project.
The success of the grant program will be measured by comparing the attendance of the Special Shapes Sunday event at Big League Dreams Sports Park for 2022 versus 2021 and comparing estimated crowd sizes at the nightly balloon glows where the special shape balloons are featured versus previous years' attendance.
Sincerely yours,
Charles P. McClendon, City Manager