Giant Hot Air Balloon Serves As Classroom For 60 Wayne Children
June 8, 2016
PNC & BALLOON FESTIVAL HELP LOCAL CHILDREN GROW UP GREAT
WAYNE, NJ — A giant 75-foot-tall hot air balloon served as the classroom and playground for more than 65 Wayne pre-school children, providing a lesson they won’t soon forget.
The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning and PNC Bank brought the balloon into the local community to promote PNC’s “Grow Up Great” school readiness program with the Center for Family Resources in Wayne on Wednesday, June 1.
More than 60 pre-school children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old had the unique opportunity to step inside a giant hot air balloon to experience the thrills and visual attractions this event offers as they study the world around them.
This “walk-through” event took place at Passaic County Technical Institute. A giant hot air balloon was inflated with cold air, laid on its side, and secured to the ground, allowing the children to play inside. Festival executive producer Howard Freeman provided an age-appropriate lesson on the science of hot air ballooning — giving kids a chance to “Grow Up Great!”
PNC’s “Grow Up Great” program is the most comprehensive corporate-based school readiness program in the country, a $350 million, multi-year initiative that began in 2004 to support school readiness.
The balloon is a retired balloon from the 34th annual QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank, to be held July 29-30-31, 2016 at Solberg Airport in Readington, NJ.
It is another example of bringing the Festival into the local community.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Russ Mensch
Mensch & Company, Inc.
Public Relations & Event Marketing
phone: 201-797-2448
email: [email protected]
