The Ultramagic 1000 balloons celebration!
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Back in 2005 we produced and delivered the 1000th Ultramagic balloon. Since then we have been so busy that time had passed without celebrating this event with all people involved in this achievement.
Well after lots of planning, time was finally taken off from the busy production programme to enjoy this achievement the Ultramagic way! On Saturday the 25th March a grand all day and night celebration party was held to celebrate and enjoy the achievement of producing over 1000 balloons. The fact that this number was now well past did not detract from the event. In fact it only made the party even better.
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The celebration was held around the Ultramagic Factory at Igualada-Odena aerodrome. We were blessed with fantastic weather the whole day and evening. The event got off to great start with early morning coffee served outside the factory in the sunshine prior to an informal gathering of balloons for a superb flight in ideal conditions.
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The celebration started in earnest at 10.30 with everyone gathering for breakfast whilst being entertained by and being involved with an amazing array of “actors” producing a film with “King Kong”. Anyone who stood too close were immediately dressed up and involved in the film making. It looked like a fake camera but in fact a real camera was fitted inside and everything was truly recorded to be shown later in the day!
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The day time celebrations were attended by the Ultramagic staff and family as well as friends and customers of Ultramagic. A large number of Ultramagic dealers from over 10 countries were also in attendance. At around 11.00 am the “great gymkana” began which consisted of a large number of competitions based on team building and fun. A large amount of the people attending the event formed into teams which then had over 2 hours of competition, exercise and fun. The events also included trolley racing, archery, cycling and volley ball.
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At around 13.30 everyone enjoyed a celebration lunch in a large Marquee tent prepared for the occasion. A superb meal was then enjoyed accompanied by a live jazz band. Prizes were then given out to the team winning the “great gymkhana”. This was then followed by a ceremony headed by the 4 partners in the Ultramagic business – Josep LLadó Costa, Carles Llado Costa, Joan Comellas and Jaume Llansana.
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During this ceremony all of the staff and dealers of Ultramagic in attendance were invited onto the stage to receive a special watch to commemorate the production of the 1000th balloon. After this, a short speech was made and then the Ultramagic staff presented the four partners with a special cake celebrating the event. This cake had a special icing decoration consisting of a photograph of the staff all outside the Ultramagic factory. The party then continued well into the afternoon with an accompanying concert.
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Activities then continued in the late afternoon sunshine with a circus show for the children and also those young at heart! There was also the opportunity to try out various circus tricks such as stilt walking and mono cycling for those wishing to work off their lunch!
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A cinema show was presented in the early evening in the marquee which started with a showing of the filming of the day, much to the surprise of many people who thought it was just a spoof without a real camera. All the antics were caught on film much to the amusement of the people watching the film. This was then followed by the showing of a number of documentary films about the balloon flying exploits of the partners of Ultramagic. This showing included their very first expedition to Africa in their own balloon that they designed and made over 25 years ago.
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The evening entertainment consisted of an open air concert performed by a live band “orquestra mitjanit” (midnight orchestra). The whole of the town of Igualada was invited to this event free of charge. The evening ended in a balloon glow coordinated to the music of the band followed by a spectacular firework display which lit up the aerodrome and surrounding area.
Without doubt a good time was had by all who attended what was 15 hours of celebration and it will be talked about for many years to come or at least until the celebration of balloon 2000.
