Callaway Gardens adds to Model Boat Regatta at Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival

One of the most highly-anticipated events at Callaway Gardens is the Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival every Labor Day Weekend. This weekend is the 11th festival.To attract more visitors, last year, the festival began a model boat regatta. The Saturday-only regatta is the idea of long-time model boat builder and aficianado Warren Aldrich of Atlanta, who owns a vacation home at Callaway Gardens’ Longleaf community.

This year, the regatta has two new components, Aldrich said.

The first is the event for children ages 6-10, who can build sailboats, paint them and sail their boats in a special pool.

The second new event is the race of fast model boats that can be powered by gas or batteries in Martin Lake.

The Balloon Festival begins Friday with the annual Balloon Glow at dusk at Robin Lake. The festivities begin at 6 a.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Call 706-663-2281.

This story was originally published August 31, 2009 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Callaway Gardens adds to Model Boat Regatta at Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival."