Editorial: Bravo for balloon festival | Wairarapa Opinion | Local Voices from Wairarapa, New Zealand

Balloons over Wairarapa will go ahead.

Organisers said yesterday the festival would still be held and open with a commemorative flight taking off from Carterton.

It's a good decision, but one that can't have been easy to manage over the past two weeks.

Media have been clamouring for an indication of whether it would be held since the day of the January 7 tragedy.

But organisers should be heartened that there is so clearly support from within the community for getting on with the show.

A poll on the Times-Age website attracted more than 500 votes, of which more than three-quarters were in favour of the festival still being held.

It's not a scientific poll, but I think it's a good indication of the support in the region.

It will still be a difficult year for the festival.

Organisers need to find a careful balance between being positive, moving forward, and showing that all is well in the industry, and paying sincere tribute to the lives lost.

There have still been no moves to hold a public memorial service, so people will look to the balloon festival to acknowledge the tragedy and the 11 lives lost.

That's a difficult tightrope to walk - paying respect to an horrific tragedy, while also creating a fun event that will attract visitors and balloonists to the area.

And, at the same time, trying not to create an indelible link between the tragedy and the festival in people's minds.

I sincerely wish them luck. Balloons over Wairarapa is a great event with a strong tradition and it would be good to see it continue to go from strength to strength.