The Boys and Girls Club of Ames’ annual Summer Breeze swept through Ames again this past weekend and organizers are calling the event a success.

Festivities began Friday with live music and a good turnout from the community, said Niki Bono, administrative assistant for the Boys and Girls Club of Ames.

The hot-air balloons – the highlight of the weekend – weren’t able to take to the skies Friday evening due to windy conditions. However, Bono said the evening was still a success.

She said the evening’s other entertainment, including an inflatable Super Slide, provided fun for kids of all ages.

The Naba competition started bright and early Saturday morning. In this competition, balloonists earned points by dropping beanbags onto targets marked with X’s at various locations throughout Ames. Five thousand dollars in prize money was up for grabs, given away by the Boys and Girls Club of Ames. The money was donated by sponsors, who paid for banner advertisements on the huge balloons.

Wind was still an issue for the balloonists Saturday night, but conditions improved in time for the “Night-Glo.” About 1,000 spectators gathered to watch as the hot-air balloons rose into the night sky, illuminated from the inside out.

Ames resident Chase Brown enjoyed Saturday night’s festivities.

“This is a great chance for people to do something different in Ames,” Brown said. “The live entertainment is really fun and the `Night-Glo’ is amazing.”

Sharon Granzow, director of Summer Breeze, said the event was an excellent showcase for the Boys and Girls Club.

“There are two purposes for holding the event,” she said. “The first is to raise funds . our membership continues to skyrocket every year and money is needed to continue the projects. The second is to let the community know about the good things the Boys and Girls Club does. People don’t always know about the positive things, and just associate our name with the bad.”

Bono said she was optimistic about the money raised during this year’s event.

“We don’t know the exact figures from this year yet, but we think it will be about the same as last year,” Bono said. “We are just hoping that we can get more and more involvement every year and make this event something that can benefit everyone.”