Balloon

Public art took flight again in Hagerstown Friday when covers flew off 27 hot-air balloon sculptures in University Plaza and along downtown streets. In one voice, more than about 200 people counted down the unveiling of the unique pieces created to raise money for the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts. 5...4...3...2...1... "Wow!," one woman said. "Look at it," someone else chimed in to the din of claps and cheers. Known as Take Flight II, the balloons are the second civic arts project undertaken by the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Foundation to raise funds for the school.

By VANDANA SINHA Staff Writer A Hagerstown nursing home resident is linked to a woman more than 100 miles away by nothing more than a deflated balloon. Jean Ann Calabrese, of Ozone Park, N.Y., was walking along a Rockaway, N.Y., beach with her husband when she noticed a shrunken green balloon covered in black ink nestled among seaweed in the sand. The balloon, deflated from its 42-day adventure across the Eastern Shore, bore the name and address of Richard Hawbaker, 53. Hawbaker was one of 100 Clear View Nursing Home residents and employees who participated in the home's May 14 balloon launch in celebration of National Nursing Home Week.

bonnieb@herald-mail.com ROUZERVILLE, PA. Faced with both a Lowe's home improvement center and a Wal-Mart coming into their small community, Rouzerville business owners are celebrating. That spirit took tangible form with the first Rouzerfest held Saturday at Red Run Park. "We're very excited," said Ann Backer, co-owner of Blondie's in Rouzerville. "We're letting people know we're not just 'east of Waynesboro.' We're Rouzerville. Lowe's and Wal-Mart will help put us on the map. That's why we started the Rouzerville Business Association.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - Motorcycle ride? Check. Helicopter ride? Check. Balloon ride? Thanks to the organizers of the Spirit of America Over Martinsburg Balloon Festival planned for next month ... Check. Bettiejean Grout of Hagerstown, 84, said there were three things she always wanted to do in life: take a cruise on a motorcycle, hop on a helicopter and take a ride in a hot air balloon. Grout took care of the motorcycle ride in the spring when a friend of hers took her out on a Harley-Davidson.

Two surrender in city Westbound I-70 again clear following accident In memory of Miana: Jewelry to benefit scholarship fund No indication balloon incident was hoax, sheriff says Centra Bank moving HQ to Mount Aetna area

bonnieb@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - An enthusiastic crowd cheered on the performers at the 17th annual Comedy and Magic Spectacular on Saturday, and at the same time helped continue the fight against child abuse. Sponsored by the Chambersburg Exchange Club, the performances drew large crowds to The Capitol Theatre. David Oliver, voted best magician in a recent "Best of Boston" survey, delighted the audience by pulling live birds out of scarves. John Cassidy, a balloon sculptor from Philadelphia who has performed in New York, Las Vegas and Hollywood, holds the Guinness Book of World Records mark for the most balloon sculptures completed in one hour.

The quilt will be on display for the first time Sunday at the annual AIDS Walk and Candlelight Memorial Observance in Martinsburg.The event begins with a walk at 6:30 p.m. starting at the corner of King and Queen streets and ending at War Memorial Park. The memorial starts at 7 and includes a red balloon release, speakers, music and refreshments. The public is invited.

Winter Street Elementary School benefited from the first of two annual "Roy Rogers Nights" earlier this month at the restaurant on Burhans Boulevard. The school and restaurant have partnered for more than five years on various projects and fundraisers, according to a press release from Washington County Public Schools. The restaurant organized special activities for children, including a clown creating balloon puppets. A percentage of sales produced more than $200 for the school.

Children's Art Festival draws hundreds By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI / Staff Writer First the man juggled and then the woman juggled. And then, they ate fire. Using their quick coordination and smoky tricks, The New World Theater Company of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., captured the attention of more than 1,200 children at Hagerstown's City Park Sunday during the Washington County Arts Council Children's Art Festival. continued The annual event featured free professional stage shows and craft activities for children in preschool through elementary school.

· The last of the three days featured horse-and-buggy rides, clowns, carolers, balloons and extended shopping hours. GREENCASTLE, PA. - With a few quick twists, the red and green balloons become a holiday treat. "One candy cane," DeWayne "Uncle Bean" Izer said as he handed the balloon to the child. "Now just don't lick it. " While dozens waited in line for a handmade balloon figure, across the brightly lighted square of Greencastle, a man in a tuxedo knelt to play "O Christmas Tree" on the bowed psaltery for a small girl.

Wednesday might have been Trish Riley's lucky day. “On a whim,” Riley, 47, made an atypical afternoon stop at Central City Liquors in Hagerstown to buy lottery tickets - a luxury she allows herself only three times a year. But when she does play the odds, Riley said she usually wins. Little did the Hagerstown resident know, she turned up in the store's lottery lounge for her tri-annual trip the day of the third-largest Powerball jackpot ever and the seventh-largest prize award of any lottery, according to the Associated Press.

Quincy Village used a hot air balloon Monday morning to symbolically launch a new initiative designed to help residents with what is being called successful aging. The “masterpiece living” program focuses on physical, spiritual, intellectual and social needs. “It enhances life. It makes you appreciate stuff that much more,” said Russell Schwartz, who moved into Quincy Village's independent living area three and a half years ago. He and his wife, Judy, trained in the masterpiece living program last fall to help introduce it to other residents in the retirement community.

On what would have been Ayron Paige Metcalf's 19th birthday, family and friends released balloons to celebrate her life. The 2012 Greencastle-Antrim Senior High School graduate died in a three-vehicle collision on Interstate 81 in September. “Three. Two. One. Happy Birthday!” Ayron's family and friends said in unison as they released dozens of balloons in front of her former employer, Holiday Hair in Chambersburg on Wednesday. Ayron's workstation at Holiday Hair has not been disturbed since the accident that claimed her life.

No decisions have been made about whether Green Grove Gardens will host another hot air balloon festival, facility manager Joanna Boock said Tuesday. The three-day festival held last weekend experienced weather problems that canceled all but two planned balloon launches. Some of the 4,000 to 5,000 guests were disappointed by the launch cancellations, but did participate in other available activities, Boock said. The special-events center first hosted a balloon festival in 2010.

The remainder of the hot air balloon festival at Green Grove Gardens this evening has been canceled. “Everything was canceled because of the storms,” said David Robinson, of Windjammer Balloons. The decision was made at about 3:30 p.m. during the first of two lines of storms, Robinson said. He called people who had reservations for the dusk launch. “Most people who answered their phones understand because of the weather,” Robinson said.

Organizers canceled the final day of the three-day hot air balloon festival at Green Grove Gardens when the weather worsened Sunday. “Everything was canceled because of the storms,” said David Robinson of Windjammer Balloons. The decision was made at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday during the first of two lines of storms, Robinson said. He called people who had reservations for the dusk launch. “Most people who answered their phones understood because of the weather,” Robinson said.

Having reached age 84, Leatrice Shoemaker figured it was time she did something she always wanted to do. Her chance came Friday evening, when she climbed into a basket below a 250,000-cubic-foot hot-air balloon and drifted away from the earth's boundless gravity. The basket she was in was the largest of about a dozen that were lifted off the ground Friday at the Green Grove Gardens Hot Air Balloon Festival 2012. The event continues through Sunday. Helicopter rides are being offered today.

An upcoming festival planned in Antrim Township, Pa., will feature entertainment both on the ground and in the air. Green Grove Gardens off Pa. 16 will host its second hot air balloon festival Aug. 3 to 5. Planning continues for the family-friendly festival that drew thousands when first held two years ago. Although the festival's focus is on hot air balloons, games and activities are planned to entertain crowds when the balloons are grounded....

A search for an ultralight aircraft that supposedly went down in a wooded area near National Pike Sunday afternoon was determined to be some silver balloons caught in a tree, said a spokesman for the Clear Spring Volunteer Fire Department. Authorities received a call at about 4:12 p.m. Sunday indicating it appeared an aircraft went down in the area of National Pike and Big Pool Road, said Capt. Zack Reid. Rescue crews found about five balloons, which appeared to be birthday balloons, Reid said.

Dozens of brightly-colored balloons rose slowly toward the sky Thursday afternoon over Williamsport High School, as hundreds of Washington County high school students paid tribute to four of their classmates who passed away in recent months. Students stood in a line across the field inside the school's track and released green, orange and blue balloons in remembrance of Quinn Hoover, Mitchell Akers, Brendon Colliflower and Samantha Kelly prior to the start of the annual Washington County Track & Field Championships.