28 - Fair Balloon Send-Off Tradition

Our Curtis fair tradition began in 1982 as the Curtis County Fair. Fair weekend kicked off much as it still does, with students and teachers wearing their Fair t-shirts to school and assembling to celebrate the upcoming big day. At these Balloon Send-offs, hundreds of colorful helium-filled balloons were distributed to students and simultaneously released into the sky at the signal. While Balloon Send-off was abandoned in 1990 for “ecological reasons,” the tradition of Send-off continues to the present day and reflects the theme of each year’s Fair.