Annual Nebraska Balloon & Wine Festival

(WOWT)
Published: Jul. 30, 2018 at 2:53 PM CDT
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The 12th Annual Nebraska Balloon & Wine Festival expands again Friday, August 10th and Saturday, August 11th, at the Leo Royal Park, on 204th just South of Cornhusker Road. The Festival is a Local Wine Showcase featuring some of the best award winning wines available to taste. In addition to the wine tasting and hot air balloons lifting everyone's spirits, the Festival is your chance to enjoy delicious foods, live entertainment, a shopping experience of one-of-a-kind Arts & Crafts and unique items in the Marketplace Village, as well as Fun for the Kids in the Family Fare KidZone Area with Pony Rides, face painting, inflatable bounce and obstacle courses.

The Festival will be your chance to enjoy some of the Areas best bands performing throughout the Festival. On Friday, the Festival will feature Omaha's own, High Heel - High Energy Classic Rock Band formed with the sole purpose of having fun with the audience, this band covers a wide variety of your favorite songs including classic rock, country, and pop. Featuring lead vocalist Lisa Larsen, most recognized by her amazing vocals and of course. high heels! She is all over the stage and in the audience, creating an interactive show that's charming to watch as well as listen to. Guaranteed Good Time!!! Come early on Saturday, gates open at 3:30PM with the special opening entertainment by Front Ro - a high powered energy band with a funky mix of old school covers from R&B, Soul, Classic Rock and Top 40. They will be followed at 6:30PM by The Personics playing a set list of diverse, energized selections ranging from Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, and Neil Diamond to Matchbox 20, the B-52s, the Violent Femmes, the Go-Go's, the Stray Cats, Sheryl Crow, James, INXS, Jimmy Eat World, Pink . . . and just about everything in-between! The band members' vocals showcase remarkable range and an uncanny way of replicating popular tunes or making a song their very own. The Personics are truly one of the Midwest's treasures, guaranteeing an evening of raucous fun!

The 2018 Nebraska Balloon & Wine Festival is pleased to announce the return of the popular Food and Wine Experience. An opportunity to taste a vast selection of wine paired with delicious hors d'oeuvres and food pairings at 6 PM & 8 PM each evening prepared by great chefs from Omaha Area Restaurants. Mike Mancuso, Festival Director, indicated "Whether you are a wine connoisseur, wine lover or simply interested in trying something new, the Food and Wine Experience will offer a special interaction with wine tastings by Chefs from Carrabba's Italian Grill on Friday, August 10th at 6 PM & 8 PM and The 801 Grill on Saturday, August 11th at 6 PM & 8 PM. It represents the culinary aspect of enjoying great wine and a fun way to discover life's simplest indulgences!" Enjoy lunch on Saturday with your chance to meet Nebraska Vintners and great chefs for just $18.00 additional, offered Saturday, August 11th at 12 Noon, Ramada Plaza - 72nd & I-80. This lunch is a fantastic occasion where delicious locally grown foods are paired with local Wines. The Nebraska Vintners' Lunch offers a chance to taste Fresh Foods with local farmers and producers center stage prepared by Executive Chef Cornell Austin of the Ramada Plaza.

"The Hot Air Balloons attract a lot of attention and is unique to this celebration! An estimated six million national spectators attend hundreds of Balloon events across the country." The Festival will be your chance to see first-hand the exciting Hot Air Balloons Launch at 7 PM and the colorful Hot Air Balloons Glow when the balloons will be illuminated at 9 PM (weather permitting) each evening. The Festival hot air balloon organizer, Mark Enholm, Festival Balloon Meister, is excited to announce the largest number of hot air balloons participating in the festival. Nebraska Balloon Club member hot air balloons that will be participating from Omaha, NE as well as hot air balloons featured from around the Midwest including Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Texas in this year's festival. This will also be your opportunity to enjoy Helicopter Rides - Call 402-346-8003 about reservations for availability of Hot Air Balloon Rides & Husker Helicopter Excursions.

The Festival features delicious foods from Omaha's Greek and Italian dishes to juicy barbecued ribs with some of the area's best restaurants and caterers participating in the REBATH Pavilion including Okinawa Sushi, Kebobs, Gyros & Brats, LaCasa Pizza, Piccolo's Italian, Thai Esarn, Boyd & Charlie's BBQ, Prairie Fire Pizza, Tastee Trailer, Godfather's Pizza, Dave & Buster's, Chicago Dawg House, Uncle Ernie's Barbecue and JoJo Gelatos. There will be Rotella's Italian bread to enjoy while wine tasting. You'll probably want to top off your evening with one of the fabulous desserts from Lithuanian Bakery tortes, to Kona Ice and Lauren Beth's Popcorn offered that is sure to make your evening complete.

The Festival is a showcase of award winning wines that beginners and wine lovers can enjoy. The United States is in the middle of a Golden Age of Wine! Americans are drinking more wine than ever before. Per capita consumption is at a record high with several years of growth. Wine tasting has never been so popular. Nebraska Wineries continue to gain awards and grow with almost 25 Wineries from just 7 Wineries over the last few years. The Local Wine Showcase will include experts and several wines from Soaring Wings Vineyard, James Arthur Vineyards, Deer Springs Winery, Glacial Till Winery, Miletta Vista Winery, ShillingBridge Winery, Cedar Hills Vineyard, Whiskey Run Creek Winery, Niobrara Valley Vineyards, Little Swan Lake Winery, Feather River Vineyard, Nissen Winery, and Prairie Creek Vineyard as well as this year's sponsoring winery, Dark Horse Winery. The Beer industry has also exploded with many new tastes and craft beers. The Festival will be your opportunity to taste the new craft beers in the comforts of the Miller Lite Beer Garden beautiful setting.

New this year, the festival will feature the RE/MAX Skydiving Team. They will be delivering its show-stopping performance to thousands at some of our region's grandest outdoor event venues. This year, the RE/MAX Team will leap from a plane at 4,500 feet and experience a 120mph free fall. You can easily find these jumpers in the air by looking for American flags flying down with them. Between the four jumpers, they have more than 100 years of jump experience and more than 15,000 jumps. The team are ambassadors of the sport of skydiving and representing RE/MAX. RE/MAX is very engaged in aviation promotion. Besides the skydiving team they sponsor two hot air balloons which will be joining this year's festival. Returning again to entertain the crowds at the 2018 festival will be area Paragliders. These aerial pilots will be thrilling spectators on both Friday and Saturday at the festival joining the fun each evening.

The Festival Tickets offer (5) tastes of wines with a Souvenir Wine Glass (while supplies last) or Your Choice of Beers for just $15.00 per person - if tickets are purchased in advance. Tickets are also available day of the Festival for $19 at the Festival Entrance.

The Nebraska Balloon & Wine Festival will be open 5 PM until 11 PM on Friday, August 10th and 3 PM until 11 PM on Saturday, August 11th at Leo Royal Memorial Park. The Festival is sponsored in part by Community Partners including Pinnacle Bank, Family Fare, RE-BATH, Today's Dental, Pets Earth, Urgent Pet Care, Veridian Credit Union, RE/MAX, Heartland Chevy Dealers, Rotella's Bakery, Pepsi, Dark Horse Wines, Miller Lite Beer, Papillion Sanitation, and Media Partners, Omaha Magazine, WOWT6, KGOR 99.9 FM, and KFAB 1110 AM. Other participating sponsors include: Renewal By Andersen, Leaf Filter, US Cellular, Thrasher, Summerwinds Resorts. Contributing sponsors include: Select Van & Storage, Bobcat of Omaha, NMC Power, Northwest Feeds, Jones Barrel, Muzzy Ice as well as many other companies have stepped up to help make this a Great Event!

To order tickets and group sales, Call (402) 346-8003