Nine balloons, hundreds of vendors, and an estimated 5,000 or more gathered at BREC’s Zachary Community Park this past Saturday for the second annual Really Hot Air Balloon Festival. The event was hosted this year by Downtown Live at the Gazebo, and a planning committee of seven spent more than half a year planning. Thanks to the generosity of sponsorships by 34 local businesses, and BREC allowing use of the facility and bringing in games and inflatables for kids, this year’s festival was a fantastic event for the community–the region as a whole, actually.

I saw my older kids' friends walking around in clusters, heard passersby speaking different languages, and saw plenty of police and first responders milling about. 

It was the kind of night you kind of couldn’t believe Zachary could pull off–the huge turnout, the beauty of the BREC grounds, the success of the balloon glow, the great bands, the variety of food and craft vendors all doing steady business. 

So when I finally got the kids tucked in way after bedtime and went to post photos (which I never did get around to doing), my heart sank to see a breaking news alert of two people shot in Meadow View subdivision “after the Zachary Really Hot Air Balloon Festival.” Most people don’t click the link to read… they just make racist comments or say “this is why I don't go to any fun functions anymore;” or “can’t have any fun activities for families without violence.” 

Thankfully, there’s been no shortage of beautiful photos of the festival on Facebook, and real reviews from people who were there. Unfortunately, though, too many would-be residents of Zachary join the Facebook Rants & Raves pages to scope out the community before making a decision to move here. And while there are some who jump to Z’s defense, the most active people on those pages are–you guessed it–the ranters. 

Zachary deserves better. And it will never be whatever the ranters want it to be with their heavy presence dragging the businesses, people and events that constantly seek to improve our community's quality of life. 

Please don’t let the mainstream media and the ranters who are too lazy to click to read the full story ruin the memory of this successful event. Please stop lumping in the balloon festival with the unrelated gun violence nearby brought on by non-Zachary residents. And, for the LOVE, please stop complaining that there were “no balloons” at the balloon festival when all literature and promotional materials clearly stated the balloon glow would begin at 8 p.m. 

If you want to complain, take it up with D.R. Horton and Virtuous Management Group, the Florida-based company that manages the subdivision’s HOA. Tell them to tighten up security on their attractive nuisance. 

If you want to do your part to effect change today, right this minute, unfollow the rants & raves pages. Even if you're not a ranter OR a raver, just a silent lurker, it's like your mama used to say about the bullies: "Don't give them any attention." Let them twist themselves up in miserable knots amongst themselves. Let's be real here--it'll never be a Raves page.