Clovis Fest sees record turnout despite canceled hot air balloon launch

CLOVIS, Calif.

"It's good people. Good food, just a really good environment here," wrestler Nitro Hawk said.

Like many others who went the Clovis Fest wrestler Nitro Hawk just wanted to enjoy the dip in temperatures. Hawk said it was his way to relax before a big wrestling match.

"I was actually grateful for that weather because it's been so hot here in the Valley," Hawk said.

When we caught up with Heather Follet and her family they were cheering on skaters.

"I wanna skate when I grow up," Savannah Mize from Fresno said.

"It's wonderful. We even had to pull out our jackets and everything. It's nice," Follet said.

At first Follet said her family was caught off-guard by Saturday's showers, and was not sure about attending the Clovis Fest at all this year.

"We were kind of worried it was going to be stormy, but it was nice," Follet said.

Organizers say it was too windy for the much anticipated hot air balloon launch Sunday morning, so they canceled the event. And several venous were also worried because those strong winds nearly knocked over their tents.

"We were just hoping our tent wouldn't fly away. It was awful. All of our merchandise started falling over. We had people going inside the building because there was so much dust in the air," Elsa Wolf with My Crafting Obsession said.

But despite the rainy and windy weather Saturday's storm cleared the skies and cooled down the air.

"It's been wonderful, we actually doubled our sales," Wolf said.

Organizers say more than 30,000 people showed up this year which is up from last year when the festival took place in triple digit temperatures.

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