“Summertime and the living is easy.”
The immortal words of George Gershwin sum up August in Findlay. It’s the month of easy cooking because corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes are the centerpiece of most of our dinners. It’s the month of relaxing evenings spent in our backyard around a campfire and watching the Perseid meteor showers in the night sky. It’s also the month of easy wardrobe as most weekend days require little more than shorts, a Findlay t-shirt from Flag City Clothing and flip-flops.
This is the casual attire that I threw on last Saturday morning. As a finishing touch, I topped it off with a baseball hat to hide my barely-brushed hair. My goal was to quickly finish my early morning errands incognito without encountering any of my friends.
And that’s when the Flag City BalloonFest broke out!
You can’t hesitate to stop and look up when you see the Flag City BalloonFest balloons in the air!
Barely a mile from my house, I was astounded to see several hot-air balloons preparing to launch on the edge of a country road. Mesmerized by the beautiful sight, I parked my car and watched. Many more Findlay neighbors stopped to watch too. Soon, we were all outside oohing and aahing over each magical launch.
And my barely-brushed hair and wrinkled clothes didn’t matter a bit.
Flag City BalloonFest is the best weekend in Findlay!
Those breathtaking balloons united us.
They reminded us what we love about living in Findlay. With our heads tilted skyward, we talked about the crystal-clear skies. We talked about the tallest corn ever. We laughed about our friends who were vacationing and missing the best weekend of the year in Findlay.
And then we saw the new Visit Findlay balloon, adorned in red, white and blue, against the backdrop of cerulean blue skies. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, we were happy to be neighbors and proud to be from Findlay. Our hometown pride swelled even more as we celebrated the silhouettes on the balloon that represent our beloved local landmarks: University of Findlay Old Main, Pioneer Sugar Mills, Hancock County Courthouse and more.
The Visit Findlay Balloon has many iconic Findlay landmarks – but where is Oler’s?
(True confession: I was a tiny bit disappointed that Oler’s Bar & Grill wasn’t one of the silhouettes though!)
After the last balloon launched, none of us were ready to leave. So, we shared a little more neighborly conversation.
And we all agreed that our errands could wait until another day – an ordinary day when Findlay skies aren’t filled with so much magic.
This blog post was written by Visit Findlay blogger Julie Brown. Julie is an Oler’s enthusiast, avid hiker, and enjoys great stories. That isn’t much, is it? Learn more about Julie and read her other posts here!
This post was originally published on August 22, 2018, with a photo refresh in 2019 and formatting refresh in 2022.