Marketing and Communications

You probably have heard about the Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival, and very possibly you have even attended. But it’s more than likely that you didn’t realize the annual event—the sixth one is Sept. 25-26—serves any purpose beyond great family entertainment.

The ambitious event is, in fact, a major fundraiser for the Pellissippi State Foundation. The balloon festival, named a Top 20 Event for September 2009 by the Southeast Tourism Society, raises funds for an entire year’s worth of support that can make a monumental difference to students who attend Pellissippi State Community College.

Thanks to the balloon festival, hundreds of students receive assistance in the form of new academic programs, technology, equipment and scholarships. A strong and responsive college infrastructure generates well-educated employees for area employers—and a skilled workforce benefits all of Knoxville and its surrounding communities.

Quite an impact for the price of festival admission.

Pat Myers, who as director of Alumni Relations and Foundation events directs the balloon festival, started working on the 2009 activities in October 2008. Long gone are the days, just a few years ago, when Myers was the committee, dependent on the assistance of Foundation staff members and several key college individuals. These days she oversees 26 committees headed by at least 43 coordinators.

“We have learned so much since the first festival in 2004,” said Myers. “The event has been successful in part due to the support of hundreds of our faculty, staff and student volunteers. This has truly become a collegewide happening. We also acknowledge our local hot air balloon pilots and community partners. They have become vital team members, providing not only their support and guidance but also their commitment to education.”

The 2009 Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival has many forms of entertainment for attendees: live music, arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, special performances and children’s activities.

And, of course, there are the balloons, the centerpiece of the festival. The crowd-favorite “balloon glow” takes place both nights (weather permitting), offering a spectacular display of balloons ringed around Pellissippi State’s pond, all lighting to choreographed music.

Festival-goers can ride in a tethered balloon (again, weather permitting) for a additional charge. As in years past, a special guest balloonist will be on hand. This year it’s Glo Kehoe, pilot of the Energizer Bunny Hot Hare Balloon, the tallest hot air balloon in the world.

The annual Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival: tons of fun for the community but more than that a first-class fundraiser. The Pellissippi State Foundation exists, after all, to generate funds to help students. Former Pellissippi State student Celeste De La Rosa is one of hundreds Foundation dollars have helped.

“I received a Music scholarship at Pellissippi State, which helped me a lot, even with books,” said De La Rosa. “I was working retail and, as a single mom, knew I needed to get back into school.”

De La Rosa graduated with a two-year associate’s degree from Pellissippi State in May. She is now studying vocal music and math education at Maryville College, with plans to teach both in high school.

“I’m in love with Pellissippi State,” she said. “I’d recommend it to anyone and would stay all four years if I could. The teachers there work hard to ensure that we achieve success.”

The Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival hours are, on Friday the 25th, 4-9:30 p.m. and on Saturday the 26th, noon-9:30. All activities are at the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road.

Admission is $10 per day per vehicle. Admission is $5 per day per spectator for those who choose to park off site and walk onto the campus. Some activities, including the tethered balloon rides, have on-site fees.

For information, visit www.pstcc.edu/balloons or call (865) 694-6400.

James Harrison and Jody Stevens are experiencing what thousands of Nashville-based musicians hope for but never achieve: singing their chart-making song on tour.

The two, who make up the new country duo Fast Ryde, will perform their single “That Thang” and more songs on Friday, Sept. 25, at the sixth annual Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival. Fast Ryde is festival sponsor WIVK’s main stage artist this year.

The balloon festival—a Pellissippi State Community College event that supports new programs, technology, equipment and scholarships offered through the Pellissippi State Foundation—is Friday the 25th, 4-9:30 p.m. and Saturday the 26th, noon-9:30 p.m. on the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road.

“That Thang” debuted in July at No. 57 on the Billboard country singles chart and has since broken into the Top 40. The song was reviewed by CMT.com blogger Alison Bonaguro as “catchy rocker.” She went on to describe Fast Ryde as a band breaking “through the glass ceiling of country radio.”

Harrison and Stevens have signed with new label Republic Nashville, a combination of powerhouses Big Machine Records and Universal Republic, which in 2007 worked together to promote country pop singer Taylor Swift. Not bad for two young musicians who write and produce all of their own songs, do their own vocals and play their own guitars.

Both Harrison and Stevens now call Nashville home, but each arrived there after paying their dues elsewhere. Harrison’s route began in Central Florida and took him through Knoxville, and Stevens landed in Tennessee from West Virginia.

The two describe themselves as “what happens when a vocal scholarship meets a degree in audio engineering.” Their music is fresh, edgy and fun. Before their show in Knoxville, they will have taken that fun on the road to Michigan, Arizona, New York and North Carolina.

Additional musical performances over the two-day event include Homer Hart, J. Luke Cochran, Kata and the Blaze and Dishwater Blonde. Fast Ryde takes the WIVK main stage on Friday at 7:15 p.m.

Festival attendees also will enjoy children’s activities, arts and food vendors and, weather permitting, hot air balloons (including the world’s tallest, the Energizer Bunny Hot Hare Balloon).

Admission is $10 per day per vehicle. Admission is $5 per day per spectator for those who choose to park off site and walk onto the campus. Some activities, including the tethered balloon rides, have on-site fees.

For a complete list of attractions and activities, visit www.pstcc.edu/balloons or call (865) 694-6400.

Imagine a pond surrounded by glowing hot air balloons, set against the nighttime backdrop of an East Tennessee rolling landscape. That’s one of many attractions spectators will enjoy Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 and 26, at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville.

The sixth annual Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival brings balloonists from across the country to participate in the event, which also features live music and entertainment, children’s activities, food, arts and crafts vendors, and tethered balloon rides. The Southeast Tourism Society has ranked the two-day festival as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast for September 2009.

The “balloon glow,” always the most popular activity, lights up the sky beginning at dusk each evening. Tethered balloon rides (weather permitting and for an additional fee) offer a view of the landscape most people have never experienced.

Making a special appearance at this year’s event is the Energizer Bunny Hot Hare Balloon, the tallest hot air balloon in the world. At 166 feet, Hot Hare is 15 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. The ears alone are 60 feet—that’s as tall as the presidents’ faces on Mount Rushmore and also the height of an entire average-size hot air balloon.

The Hot Hare is touring 20 cities as part of the 20th birthday of the Energizer Bunny, and no other stops are planned in Tennessee.

This year’s festival offers a variety of music choices. Taking the main stage courtesy of sponsor WIVK radio is Fast Ryde, a hot new country duo with a just-released song on Billboard’s Top 40 country singles chart. Band members James Harrison (who has Knoxville ties) and Jody Stevens write and produce their own music.

Fast Ryde performs at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Additional musical performers during the two days include Homer Hart, J. Luke Cochran, Kata and the Blaze and Dishwater Blonde.

The festival’s non-musical entertainment also is varied—it ranges from local performers familiar to Knoxvillians to out-of-state guests who are sure to be welcomed. Two of the highlights:

• Einstein, the Knoxville Zoo’s African grey parrot who stars in “The Bird Show” at the zoo, shows off her command of more than 200 cues. (Yes, Einstein is a female.) The parrot is featured on Animal Planet’s Web site as one of the “Most Watched Pet Stars.” Einstein and friends perform on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
• The Ultimate Canines, a Missouri-based team of 14 dogs, perform high jumps, agility races, disc catches and, yes, doggy dancing. Owners Tom and Mary Clements, who tour the country with their Ultimutts, describe the performing canines as “dogs found on the streets, rescued from pounds, shelters … not your typical high-breed, high-priced pups.” Due to their popularity, the Ultimate Canines are slated for six shows during the festival.

“This family-oriented event will have something to delight all ages,” said Pat Myers, who as director of Alumni Relations and Foundation events for the Pellissippi State Foundation coordinates the festival. The event is a Foundation fundraiser that supports new programs, technology, equipment and scholarships.

The children’s activities, which Myers says make up a large portion of the festivities, read like a festival in and of themselves. A sampling:

• Knox County firehouse
• Knox County Imagination Library
• Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge
• Army National Guard climbing wall
• Face painting, tattoos and crafts
• Fingerprinting with McGruff the Crime Dog

There’s even a Walgreens Boo Boo Station.

Add food vendors, arts and crafts vendors and, most important, a good cause, and you have a Knoxville event not to be missed.

Admission is $10 for a vehicle pass, per day. Walk-ons will be charged $5 per person. Festival hours for the event, which takes place around the pond on the Pellissippi Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, are 4-9:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, and noon-9:30 on Saturday, Sept. 26.

For additional information and a complete list of activities, visit www.pstcc.edu/balloons or call (865) 694-6400.

Imagine a pond surrounded by glowing hot air balloons, set against the nighttime backdrop of an East Tennessee rolling landscape. That’s exactly what spectators will see on September 25 and 26 on the main campus of Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The sixth annual Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival brings balloonists from across the country to participate in the festival, which also features live music and entertainment, children’s activities, food, arts and crafts vendors, and tethered balloon rides.

The “balloon glow,” always the most popular activity, lights up the sky beginning at dusk each evening. The Southeast Tourism Society has ranked the festival as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast for September 2009.

Making a special appearance at this year’s event is the Energizer Bunny Hot Hare Balloon, the tallest hot air balloon in the world. The Hot Hare is touring 20 cities as part of the 20th birthday of the Energizer Bunny.

Admission is $10 for a vehicle pass, per day. All proceeds support student enrichment opportunities through the Pellissippi State Foundation. Festival hours for the event, located at 10915 Hardin Valley Road, are 4-9:30 p.m. on Friday and noon-9:30 on Saturday.

For additional information, visit www.pstcc.edu/balloon or contact event coordinator Pat Myers at (865) 539-7242 or pmyers@pstcc.edu.