Rise in good times at ‘Glow on the O’
Participants line up for untethered hot air balloon rides at the Glow on the O event at Spencer's landing on Saturday evening. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Tethered hot air balloons for attendees at the third annual Glow on the O event at Spencer's Landing on Saturday evening. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Painted pumpkins following the pumpkin painting competition at the Glow on the O event at Spencer's Landing on Saturday evening. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Participants line up for untethered hot air balloon rides at the Glow on the O event at Spencer's landing on Saturday evening. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Tethered hot air balloons for attendees at the third annual Glow on the O event at Spencer's Landing on Saturday evening. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Painted pumpkins following the pumpkin painting competition at the Glow on the O event at Spencer's Landing on Saturday evening. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
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VIENNA -- The Friends of Vienna held its third annual "Glow on the O" at Spencer’s Landing on Saturday.
Jack Mathers, president of Friends of Vienna, said the event was an opportunity for the community to "come out during the day and just hang out."
The event had family games such as stick horse racing and sack racing, with inflatable slides, face painting, and a pumpkin decorating contest giving the whole family something to enjoy.
Mathers said "The big thing is it's fun seeing families, people down here, kids having fun. We've got games down here that you typically wouldn't have for kids."
The event also featured a musical performance by Luke Colombo, as free entertainment for attendees to enjoy.
"Luke came down and played for two hours this afternoon, and people really enjoyed it," Mathers said.
With the main event of tethered hot air balloon rides, attendees lined up for their turn.
"It's cool when the balloons start inflating and you start seeing the different colors and everything around. It's just pretty cool to see. It's a day to do something here in the valley that you couldn't do before," Mathers said.
Last year, the event had a turn out of around 5,000 people and Mathers hopes it will continue to grow.
Mather said the more people who attend the more involved they can be.
"We're trying to do more things, and the more people come and support something like this, the more it enables us to do because our sponsors look at it and that's something we want to be involved in."
He said the group aims to bring new experiences to the community, both families and economic development.
"We want to bring something that is great for the area, great for families, but also businesses because business buys into it. We want to bring people into this area that normally maybe wouldn’t be here, come from another part of the state. So there’s an economic factor involved there for economic development. So you know, we’re about just bringing things to the community that normally wouldn’t be here. We're trying to be on the edge and bring different stuff."
Sophie Wheeler can be reached at swheeler@newsandsentinel.com.