Breakfast with Balloons will happen this Saturday in the middle of ColorFest from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the amphitheater in Centennial Park.
Tickets are available online at pagosagreen.org for $50. Don’t miss it.
Here’s why: First, enjoy the balloon ascension from a choice vantage point; second, enjoy an early-morning delicious breakfast catered locally; third, enjoy the acoustic strains of our local group, Acoustic Review; and, finally, help support an organization intended upon making this site a model of community collaboration in the achievement of our mission: to educate the community in sustainable agricultural practices by producing food year-round using local renewable energy.
Want a few more details?
The breakfast? Egg bites with cheese and seasonal veggies, crispy bacon, ColorFest fruit salad, pumpkin muffins (GF), a glass of bubbly mimosa and coffee to top it off.
What to wear? Consider a warm jacket, perhaps a blanket and your favorite traveling chair or a pillow.
What to bring? If treading lightly is your motto, please bring your own plate, cup and cutlery; otherwise, compostable versions of the same will be provided.
Our very first Breakfast with Balloons was in 2017 with only one dome up — the Education Dome — and a portable toilet in service. Today, the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership (GGP) can claim success. The site now includes three domes — the Community Garden Dome and the Innovation Dome were added — and an attractive and useful community amphitheater, all as a result of GGP fundraising.
In cooperation with the Town of Pagosa Springs, the early portable toilet has been replaced by a permanent restroom, geothermally heated in the winter and including a water fountain.
To the north, with help from the lunchtime Rotary Club, there’s an impressive rock landscape complete with some 20 flowering trees; in the center, a colorful bed of perennials encircles part of one domes; to the south is the Audubon Society’s native plant demonstration garden planted in honor of Terry Hershey; and interspersed throughout are vegetables and herbs for community use and, alas, also the deer.
But, we cannot rest on our laurels. Now it is time for maintenance. The domes have resisted Colorado winters for some seven to nine years and it has taken a toll. The funds raised by this event will go toward the anticipated $15,000 to $20,000 maintenance tab.
What needs doing? Upgrading fans and vents, including a new attic fan, a system that allows us to program airflow by temperature and season directly from an iPad; replacing vents damaged in this year’s windstorm and polycarbonate panels damaged by hail storms; and refreshing several interior features that, though long-serving, are ready for an update; and, finally, resealing the domes with new tape on all seams, ensuring both energy efficiency and longevity.
These upgrades aren’t just cosmetic; they are vital improvements that help us keep the domes functional year-round.
The event’s success as a fundraiser now rests with our community, the beneficiary of our efforts. We encourage you to participate. Be part of the community that gathers early Saturday morning to watch sun, mist and balloons rise together. It’s truly a breathtaking sight. And know that you have played a part in keeping the domes along the river functional and beautiful as they represent our community.
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