Balloon and music festival a big hit

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 7:02 PM EDT

The Metro NY Balloon & Music Festival 2008 held at Brookhaven’s Calabro Airport was Long Island’s largest event of the summer and attracted more than 125,000 attendees. Hosted by the Town of Brookhaven and sponsored by RE/MAX of New York, Inc., the state’s leading real estate franchise network headquartered in Garden City, the event fulfilled its mission to “Reach for the Sky” by offering a spectacular weekend of family friendly activities.

Dozens of hot air balloons took flight during four fantastic hot air balloon inflations held during the Festival. Thousands of patrons watched and enjoyed the more than 40 musical performances, extreme sports exhibitions, monster truck rallies, skydiving shows and other performances included with admission to the festival. Two musical highlights at the Festival were Fieston 2008 hosted by LaFiesta Radio and Party 105’s Mega Jam 2008 attracting fans from across the region.

The event assisted more than a dozen charities and community service organizations in fund raising and community awareness efforts. The final tally is not in, but local groups will receive tens of thousands of dollars to support their efforts.

For more information about the 2008 Metro NY Balloon and Music Festival go to www.metronyballoonfest.com.