By Shannon Lukens.
The Hot Air Balloon Rodeo has been canceled for this summer. The event has been managed for the past several years by the Steamboat Pilot & Today. In an editorial from Publisher Bonnie Stewart, she writes that it was a tough decision that did not come lightly.
“The Balloon Rodeo is costly to produce, and while we had several great sponsors that helped support it, the event was still too costly for us. We also do not have the staffing that it takes to continue to produce this event on our own either.”
It would have been the 41st year for the Balloon Rodeo in Steamboat. Stewart tells Steamboat Radio that they have not yet decided if it will continue in future years.
Balloonmeister Doug Lenberg said he was told by Steamboat Pilot publisher Bonnie Stewart on March 9, “that they would not be putting on the Balloon Rodeo this year and they had not been able to find any entity to take it over.” This was in an email from Lenberg to all of the balloon pilots who regularly attend the Steamboat event.
Full statement from Steamboat Pilot & Today Publisher Bonnie Stewart
Steamboat Radio’s Shannon Lukens is the long-time announcer of the Balloon Rodeo.