Traffic jams caused tempers to flare and poor weather kept balloons from launching during the third annual Festival of Flight at the Tampa North Flight Center.
Scores of motorists complained via the festival’s Facebook page about being stuck in traffic for hours.
(Steve Hollingshead/Photos)
Some said they were turned away from the venue because there was no place to park. Others said they gave up and voiced irritation for being inconvenienced.
Numerous posts criticized event organizers for failing to secure enough parking, for not having law enforcement to direct traffic and for not letting people know early enough when events were cancelled.
The Friday Night Balloon Glow was held, but balloon launches scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings were cancelled because of the weather.
Some activities also were able to go on, but much of the event was a washout.
Jessica Warren, festival director for Festival of Flight, said “We are reconsidering all of our options.” That includes, whether to stage the event again.
“Everybody says it was disorganized,” Warren said, but months of hard work and planning went into the event.
Parking was arranged for 20 acres on Compark 75, which is next to Tampa North Flight Center. Warren and her husband mowed the field to prepare it for parking.
Fifty-six volunteers were also secured to help with parking, she said.
But festivalgoers began showing up four hours before the event on Friday afternoon and volunteers had not arrived to direct parking.
To make matters worse, some people disregarded directions by volunteers and parked in areas and wound up blocking off areas that were intended for additional parking, Warren said.
Some Facebook posts recommended that a remote parking arrangement be made with shuttles to ferry people to the festival for a fee.
Warren said that was done, with five shuttle buses and three golf carts giving people rides from the adjacent Compark 75 parking area to the venue.
She said the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office came to help with parking and officers were hired to help for the rest of the event.
“We knew the popularity had grown,” Warren said. But she said, organizers did not expect so many people to show up at the same time.
Despite the criticism, there were some positive Facebook posts, particularly about the beauty of the balloon glow.
Warren did not see the balloon glow.
“I was directing traffic,” she said.
Published September 16, 2015
