READINGTON, NJ --- The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning and PNC Bank will be bringing the magic of ballooning to children and families alike in the coming year.

 

Pre-Festival events begin this month and run through July’s annual event, the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America.

 

This year’s 34th annual QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank will take off July 29-30-31, 2016 from Solberg Airport in Readington, NJ. Named one of the Top 100 Events in North America six times, the Festival attracts upwards of 175,000 people and worldwide media coverage as a showcase event for the Garden State.  

 

“We look forward to another great year of bringing the Festival into communities across the state in 2016,” said Festival Executive Producer Howard Freeman. “We’ve created exciting promotions that are still going strong since our partnership began 14 years ago. Along the way, we’ve added new elements that have enabled PNC to consistently deliver their message while providing up-close-and-personal experiences for people of all ages throughout the year.” 

 

“For us, the QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank is so much more than simply a wonderful three-day family festival at the end of every July,” said Joe Whall, PNC Senior Vice President and Director of Client & Community Relations. “Prior to the festival itself, over a period of months we have a robust series of associated community activities: the PNC American Patriot essay contest, a stand-alone inflation of the PNC American Flag Balloon and demonstrations of the science of hot air ballooning for pre-school children. We have a lot of fun --- and lot of positive impact --- with this sponsorship.”

 

The 13th annual PNC Bank “American Patriot Essay Contest” for children in grades 2-12 begins this month and concludes with the winner taking a hot air balloon ride at his or her school in June. 

 

The PNC Bank “Grow Up Great” school readiness program provides hundreds of pre-school children with the opportunity learn about the world around them and explore a cold-inflated balloon in May and June. 

 

The Festival and PNC will launch the nation’s Flag Day celebrations on June 14 with the “PNC Salutes America” special-shaped hot air balloon, the largest free-flying American flag in the world. 

 

At the Festival, PNC Bank will once again present one of the main concert headliners, offer children’s activities in the PNC Bank Mobile Learning Center, and provide attendees with convenient access to on-site ATMs. 

 

The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank creates tailor-made, innovative marketing programs for companies to reach its highly desirable family audience by showcasing new consumer products and services in rising above the clutter in the heavily saturated New York-Philadelphia media market. These range from mobile marketing and product display and sampling opportunities to signage on 75-foot-tall hot air balloons that fly during the six scheduled mass ascensions.

 

Freeman noted that partnerships with the Festival’s Blue Sky VIP Club, which provides priority viewing along the Balloon Launch Field, and well as opportunities to entitle the Main Stage are among the many ways brands can connect with the Festival’s 175,000 attendees. 

 

For additional information please visit www.balloonfestival.com.

 

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MEDIA CONTACT:  

Russ Mensch

Mensch & Company, Inc.

Public Relations & Event Marketing

phone: 201-797-2448

email: [email protected]