The organizers of the Taste N Glow Balloon Festival say they won’t be involved with the festival in 2024, if it happens at all.
In a post on Facebook, Nancy and Steve Woller said they had used adjacent land to the festival for parking, and the land’s owner allowed them use of the plot for free. But, that owner has decided to sell the land, and the Woller’s say they were unable to raise the money to buy it.
Finding another location didn’t work out either, they said. The festival takes about 120 acres to run successfully.
The Wollers said in the post they won’t be involved in the festival in 2024. That makes it unlikely that it will happen at all.
The festival began as the Balloon Rally in 2002 by Woller and was held at the Wausau Municipal Airport for years, run by Wausau Events. The festival was canceled in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, and when organizers announced it wouldn’t be held in 2021, the Wollers started Taste N Glow to replace it in the town of Stettin.
The festival continued to grow in popularity, and the festival being likely not to happen this year came as a shock to central Wisconsin residents. The festival in recent years drew people from almost all U.S. states and from around the world.
Wausau Events Director Alissandra Aderholdt expressed sadness that the festival seems like it won’t happen this year. “We hope a solution presents itself to allow the Taste & Glow Balloon Fest to continue in the greater Wausau Area, and appreciate Steve’s many years of dedication and partnership,” she said in a statement.
Hundreds of residents expressed their disappointment that the festival seemed like it was ending.
