Swaying to the pulse
of the breeze, this remarkably lifelike creature welcomed visitors to the
Bubble and Balloon Festival. (Photos by Carlye Calvin.)
One of Peter Davison's
young fans picks up where the juggler left off.
NCAR's Bubble and Balloon Festival was a smash hit. The Father's Day event lured
throngs of visitors to the Mesa Lab: an estimated 5,000 were on hand, enough to
fill the ML parking lot and then some. Kids and their parents crisscrossed the
tree plaza, making bubbles, learning about the Bernoulli effect, or watching juggler
Peter Davison, alumnus of Boulder's well-known Airjazz ensemble. Inside the lab,
people toured the exhibits and checked out the half-hour performances of Casey
Carle's Bubblemania (see photo at right). The self-proclaimed "bubbleman," who
performs 250 shows a year, created bubbles within bubbles and even set a bubble
aflame (don't try it at home). The new NCAR Science Store did brisk business at
its main ML lobby site and a special tree-plaza location. With NCAR sounding units
in the field for STEPS (see the article in this issue), the National Weather Service
launched its own weather balloons from the ML parking lot. There, and on the fountain
plaza, giant balloon sculptures from Fast Lane Productions greeted visitors. "I
am really thrilled with the way the Bubble and Balloon Festival turned out," says
organizer Linda Carbone (ISS). "When the 40th Anniversary Committee first met,
we knew that we wanted one event in the 40th activities that would be fun for
the staff and their families and draw the community into NCAR and UCAR's celebration.
I think that we did that with the festival." Linda's claim is backed up by comments
posted by visitors at the feedback kiosk in the new exhibit. Among the postings:
"Cool! My mom did the color swirls." "It was a great gift for Father's Day. He
had fun!" "This is about the 5th or 6th time I've been here, and I like it more
every time I come."
