Balloon victims tribute to open festival | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Wairarapa's balloon festival is to go ahead in March - opening with a tribute flight to the 11 victims of the January 7 ballooning tragedy.

The decision to go ahead has met with strong support from the balloon community, local leaders and the son of one of the victims.

The 14th annual festival will open on March 8 with a memorial to the pilot and 10 passengers who died when the balloon struck powerlines at Clareville and crashed to the ground.

The four-day festival will run in Masterton and Carterton and feature more than 30 balloons, said Trust House Balloons over Wairarapa organiser Jonathan Hooker.

Organisers had canvassed opinions about holding the festival in the wake of the tragedy, Mr Hooker said, and spoken to the victims' families.

"We have not received any feedback that the festival should not happen. The overwhelming opinion of those we consulted was that it should go ahead," Mr Hooker said.

Gavin Bennett, son of balloon crash victim Val Bennett, supported the festival and memorial for the people who died.

"I think it's probably just as well for everybody to move on. The festival must have been a long time in the planning and a lot of money will be riding on it."

Mr Bennett said a funeral service was being held in Wellington today for balloon crash victim Denise Dellabarca, his mother's cousin and friend who had accompanied her on the fatal flight.

Carterton Mayor Ron Mark, who earlier vowed to take a balloon ride at the festival, said the event would be "a positive step towards enabling the Carterton community to return to normality".

"It is also an opportunity to demonstrate our confidence and respect for our ballooning fraternity and to pay tribute to those involved in the tragedy."

Masterton Mayor Garry Daniell fully supported the festival and the tribute flight.

He said the event was vital for the region and its economy and Festival to go ahead

Martyn Stacey, festival flight director and Ballooning Association of New Zealand president, has attended all previous Wairarapa balloon festivals and said balloonists throughout the country supported the event this year.

"They want to fly in Wairarapa this year, even those who have not attended the festival before. There is a real feeling of solidarity amongst balloonists everywhere."

Festival balloons will, depending on weather, launch each day at dawn and are to lift off together from Carrington Park in Carterton for the traditional opening event and return to the town for the final flight on March 11.

A poll run on the Wairarapa Times-Age website had by yesterday attracted 600 votes, of which 461 respondents, or 76 per cent, voted the festival should run.

Fifteen per cent believed the festival should run as a memorial to the 11 victims while seven per cent said it should not be staged.