Aloft is grounded – permanently.
The hot air balloon festival will cease because of a lack of attendance, the festival’s board of directors announced late Wednesday afternoon.
The festival is in the process of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the festival formerly known as Freedom Weekend Aloft announced on its Facebook page.
Freedom Weekend Aloft started in 1982 after a movie company asked the Greenville Chamber of Commerce to host a festival that would be used as a backdrop for a movie. “Hot Heir” was eventually released as a 3-D movie, but never made it to local theaters.
The festival at one time was ranked as one of the top attractions in the Southeast and has been featured on ESPN and the “Today” show.
But attendance has dropped since the festival moved from Anderson to Heritage Park in Simpsonville in 2007. It originally was held at Donaldson Center. Bad weather hurt, too, and caused the festival to fall behind on its rent to the city of Simpsonville.
