Newbury to get its own balloon festival

This July, the sky over the Thames Valley will be filled with hot air balloons. This is due to a new ballooning event, which will be held at the Newbury Showground near Hermitage, Thatcham, between the 17th and 19th July. The Newbury Balloon Festival will be free to enter, although there will be a small charge for parking to cover the cost of traffic management. Any cash raised during the event is set to be donated to charity or used for community projects. In total, three organisations will receive funds from the first festival, with the Poppy Appeal in Thatcham already confirmed to benefit. Festival organisers posted the following on the event’s Facebook page:

"We've already lined up some great local bands and performers for all three days and we are looking at what else we can put on in the main arena between ballooning activities.”

In addition to nightly glows and hot air balloon flights on the Saturday and Sunday, there will be an arts and crafts fair, as well as a classic car show. Community stalls, a funfair, food vendors, and live music acts have already been organised for the event. Over 2,200 people have already liked the festival’s Facebook page, suggesting that the occasion will be a popular one. A website is in the process of being built to promote the festival and help visitors to plan their visit. Events in the Thatcham area are often well attended. For example, the area’s annual fireworks festival reportedly attracts around 10,000 people.