Dansville, NY – After 41 years of delighting the skies of Western NY, the Dansville Balloon Festival is no more. There is no hot air balloon celebration on the calendar for 2023 but that is not the biggest news surrounding the event.

It may just be a bunch of hot air but a report leaked to The Innerloop Blog claims the Chinese Communist Party has been a silent partner in the festival for decades. We think it’s a pile of balloon-ey and we haven’t been blown away by any evidence to prove the claim.

“I don’t remember any spy technology,” says longtime festival-goer Denise Washenburg. “But I also don’t remember there not being spy technology either.”

The Dansville area was disappointed to hear the balloon festival would not be taking flight this year and some residents would be happy to see it return regardless of who the major sponsor happened to be.

“Seeing them balloons is literally the only thing we have going on in Dansville and if China wants to spy on us in exchange for this festival, I say go for it,” said one Dansvillian. “What are they going to do with a bunch of pictures of people smoking weed in Stony Brook State Park anyways?”