Listen to this article

The New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning will be grounded in 2024.

One of the state’s premier summertime attractions, the high-flying, three-day event at Solberg Airport in Readington is being put on a one-year hiatus so its organizers can “reimagine, refresh and relaunch the next version this great festival in 2025,” they announced on Dec. 15.

Citing “an exponential increase in operational costs” post-pandemic, the festival’s longtime executive director, Howard Freeman, said the decision to take a pause came after “months of difficult soul searching” following this year’s 40th anniversary celebration in July. 

Founded in 1983, the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning was acquired 10 years later by Freeman and business partner John Korff, who were looking for a showcase event to build around the Garden State.

Under his leadership, the event has grown to become the largest summertime balloon and music festival in North America. While the balloons that take flight twice a day are the main draw, the festival delivers a range of activities aimed at different age groups, from amusement rides to headlining concerts by Grammy Award-winning artists to a 5K race – making it a family-friendly outing.

In explaining the hiatus, Freeman said organizers need to “properly address” challenges that are being felt across the entire festival industry worldwide.

“Inflation, supply chain interruptions, vendors who went out of business during the pandemic, competition for scarce resources from festivals worldwide, along with drastically increased fees set by musical talent, make it extremely difficult to present a quality event in its current form without passing rising costs onto our guests,” he said.

During an interview last month with NJBIZ, Freeman noted that it’s also becoming harder for large-scale events to draw corporate sponsorships, especially as many companies are still cautious about spending on promotional efforts due to ongoing inflationary pressures.

Freeman also pointed to a changing media landscape that has prompted many businesses to forgo traditional advertising platforms, like radio, print and television, in lieu of more creative ways to make a splash. Additionally, summertime festivals and concerts increasingly have to contend with extreme weather-related disruptions, which, he said, also makes companies hesitant about backing outdoor events.

Given the economic realities that have left many businesses downsizing, Freeman said he believes it’s more important than ever to show corporate leaders that sponsorship is “an investment and not necessarily an expense.”

Over the years, the festival has worked with companies across a range of industries – such as consumer health giant Johnson & Johnson, headquartered in New Brunswick, and online used car marketplace Arizona-based Carvana – to create customized promotion packages designed to meet their goals.

This year, the festival’s marketing partners were Progressive and NJM Insurance Group, along with premium water brand Icelandic Glacial and soft drink company Jarritos.

Participating sponsors included I Love NY, New Jersey Devils, New Jersey Division of Tourism, Trinity Solar, Wyndham, Seashore Amusements, National Pools & Spas, Miller Lite, DoubleTree by Hilton, T Mobile, Stella Rose Wines, Defender, Volkswagen and Unique Photo, while the roster of marquee partners featured companies including Bath Fitter, Leaf Filter, Wawa, Renewal by Anderson, Rutgers Law School, Dogfish Head Distilling Co., Ghirardelli, Spinnaker Resorts and KitchenSaver.

Freeman commented, “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the New Jersey Lottery, who not only signed as our new title sponsor just as COVID was taking hold in 2020, but whose support has been unwavering and continues to this day.”

“With the Lottery as a solid foundation, the balloon festival is currently seeking additional investors and partners who would benefit from the event’s name recognition, associated brand awareness, its global media coverage, highly coveted family demographics, and community giving, as part of its 2025 relaunch,” said Freeman.