Sky high

Balloons continue to fly despite down economy


QUEENSBURY -- For the past five years, Harry Collison has flown with the name Talk of the Town on the side of his basket.

But this year, his balloon carries the Panera Bread logo, instead of the Glens Falls establishment.

Collison, a commercial pilot and owner of Two Angels Hot Air Balloon Team from Coatesville, Pa., said it’s hard to remember everyone who has sponsored him over his last 16 years at the Adirondack Balloon Festival.

Many sponsors, Collison said, had to drop out this year due to the economy.

"If you have to make pay cuts, you’re probably not going to sponsor a balloon," he said.

Local and national businesses sponsor balloonists to offset the cost of holding the festival, which co-founder and treasurer Joan Grishkot said costs roughly $100,000 to put on each year.

Gishkot said sponsors pay $525 to cover a balloonist’s hotel room, propane and a meal or two over the weekend.

Down a few from past years, Grishkot said there 76 sponsors, a decline due to the recession. Each sponsor also receives a half-page ad in the festival program, which is sold to festivalgoers.

So far this year, Grishkot said program sales are "soft."

Sponsoring a balloon does get you an ad in the program and your business name of the basket, but one local sponsor said the advertisement is not entirely about drumming up business.

"Our name is out there, but I do it more for the fun of it," said Allen Powers, of Allen Powers CPA in Glens Falls, which does income tax preparations, financial services and accounting for small businesses.

Powers and his brother-in-law’s business, Fones Tree Service in Glens Falls, sponsor two balloons owned by Ken Griswold and his wife, Amy, the owners of Champagne Balloon Adventures in Alexandria Bay.

Powers said he’s been sponsoring Griswold for the last 15 years and even if doesn’t get a lot of business from it, he said he gets more than his money’s worth in camaraderie.

Sponsors also receive two free rides from their balloonist and Powers said he can still remember not only his first flight, but also the first balloon he went up in 12 years ago.

"It was a black balloon that had the Playboy bunny on it. We didn’t know that was on the balloon until he inflated it," he said with a smile.

"We even got a little Playboy balloon pin," he said.

Although Powers is able to ride each year for free, he said he’s only been up three or four times total.

"I usually let others who haven’t gone up before enjoy it," he said.

Sponsor or no sponsor, a balloon flight really depends on the support from mother nature.

"If you have to make pay cuts, you’re probably not going to sponsor a balloon," he said.

Local and national businesses sponsor balloonists to offset the cost of holding the festival, which co-founder and treasurer Joan Grishkot said costs roughly $100,000 to put on each year.

Gishkot said sponsors pay $525 to cover a balloonist’s hotel room, propane and a meal or two over the weekend.

Down a few from past years, Grishkot said there 76 sponsors, a decline due to the recession. Each sponsor also receives a half-page ad in the festival program, which is sold to festivalgoers.

So far this year, Grishkot said program sales are "soft."

Sponsoring a balloon does get you an ad in the program and your business name of the basket, but one local sponsor said the advertisement is not entirely about drumming up business.

"Our name is out there, but I do it more for the fun of it," said Allen Powers, of Allen Powers CPA in Glens Falls, which does income tax preparations, financial services and accounting for small businesses.

Powers and his brother-in-law’s business, Fones Tree Service in Glens Falls, sponsor two balloons owned by Ken Griswold and his wife, Amy, the owners of Champagne Balloon Adventures in Alexandria Bay.

Powers said he’s been sponsoring Griswold for the last 15 years and even if doesn’t get a lot of business from it, he said he gets more than his money’s worth in camaraderie.

Sponsors also receive two free rides from their balloonist and Powers said he can still remember not only his first flight, but also the first balloon he went up in 12 years ago.

"It was a black balloon that had the Playboy bunny on it. We didn’t know that was on the balloon until he inflated it," he said with a smile.

"We even got a little Playboy balloon pin," he said.

Although Powers is able to ride each year for free, he said he’s only been up three or four times total.

"I usually let others who haven’t gone up before enjoy it," he said.

Sponsor or no sponsor, a balloon flight really depends on the support from mother nature.

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Hot air balloons to fill the sky in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE — Most people in Louisiana associate propane tanks and burners with crawfish boils, but for the many people headed to the Capitol City, it can mean only one thing — hot air ballooning.

About 40 brightly colored teardrop-shaped aircraft will fill the skies Aug. 7-9 as pilots from Louisiana and 10 other states compete in the Pennington Louisiana State Hot Air Balloon Championship. Balloon pilots fly their 65,000-90,000 cubic foot airships in pursuit of targets posted around the city and toss beanbags to see who was best able to navigate the winds.

Baton Rouge has hosted ballooning events for decades and for a while was the site of the national championship.

Ballooning Foundation Director and pilot George Richard says the race is "the best use of hot air in America," poking fun at the political hot air emitted by the state Legislature and Congress.

Sports Illustrated proclaimed the event one of "America's Top 25 Summer Essentials," he said, and AAA labeled it a "Travel Treasure."

Louisiana pilots include Ryan Richard, of Ruston, son of the event director; Gary Odom, of Ruston; Mark Evans, of Lafayette; Ted Habetz, of New Iberia; Bob Pulaski and David Miller, of Pineville; Leslie Jeansonne, of Prairieville; Karen Kent, of Port Allen; Robert Ambeau, of Gonzales; and Richard, Deanna Albaugh, John Good and Lamar Poole, of Baton Rouge.

About 60,000 spectators attend each year because they have the chance to wander between the massive balloons as they are inflating and watch as they take off from a field at the Pennington Biomedical Research facility along Perkins Road, Richard said.

While the balloons are aloft and between events, bands entertain the crowds. A large children's play area offers numerous amusements.

"The race keeps being well-attended because Louisiana delivers the best local hot air balloon race in the nation," Richard said. "Thirty-eight pilots from 11 states are flying back this year because they have fun, too. And it's an all-family free event that kids of all ages enjoy."

Leo Honeycutt, spokesman for the event, laid out the schedule.

Competition for State Balloon Champion is over a three-morning period, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Pilots meet at sunrise, get coordinates for drop sites and plot their routes as best they can, depending on wind currents.

In the "Pole Grab," pilots triangulate wind currents from a mile away aiming for a 30-foot-tall "Red Stick" on the top of which is a cash prize. They have one shot as they fly by the pole and sometimes pilots have to try to wait their turn to get to the pole — if they can find a dead spot or circular currents.

Musical entertainment starts at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday and a Children's Village hosted by the Baton Rouge Recreation Department opens at 4 p.m.

Weather permitting, at 6 p.m., the U.S. Army "Black Daggers" skydiving team does stunts as it twirls down from the sky and 20 balloons launch in a mass ascension.

At 8 p.m. each night, balloons come back to Pennington for a nighttime "balloon glow," firing off burners to create seven-story-tall light bulbs. The crowd is encouraged to walk between the balloons or just sit back and "enjoy the glow."

Skydivers jump again wearing rockets for a light show amid the stars. A fireworks show set to music caps off each night.

The event and parking are free with food and drink booths on site.

Honeycutt recommends, "Bring a blanket and camera."

All events are subject to weather conditions.

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Callaway Gardens - Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival

A Top Labor Day Weekend Destination - The annual Callaway Gardens Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival, which takes place each year during Labor Day Weekend, features old-fashioned fun and the beauty of the sky filled with colorful hot air balloons. Highlights include balloon rides, family-friendly activities, music, exhibits, demonstrations and more. Friday evening features a gorgeous balloon glow at Robin Lake Beach.

Sky High Hot Air Balloon packages, starting at, $149 include accommodations, tickets for admission to Callaway Gardens and to the Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival, some meals, tickets for selected activities and more. The 2009 Festival takes place September 4 - 6, 2009. Activities, times and locations are subject to change and all hot air balloon activities depend on suitable weather conditions as determined by Callaway Gardens.

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Hot air balloons fill sky with flair

Rising in front of a blue horizon, multi-colored balloons launched into the sky Saturday night over Kenny Anderson Park in Sioux Falls.

Almost 40 hot air balloons graced the scene as part of the 34th annual Great Plains Balloon Race put on by the Sioux Falls Ballooning Association.

"It's so awesome to see that many up in the air at one time," spectator Pat Wages said.

This year, balloonists from across the Midwest launched twice on Saturday, once after dawn and once around sunset. Both times, balloonists tossed bean bags from their balloons at a land target during a "hare-and-hound" contest.

"For me, it did not go well," balloon pilot John Bullock said of the morning's contest. "I missed the target by a bunch, but I saw it."

Bullock, of Wisconsin, said he enjoyed flying over the city during his first flights in the race as a pilot.

"It's very calm. You're moving with the wind, just floating along," Bullock said. "It's really quiet until you hit the burner."

The race's "balloonmeister," Bill Kullander, didn't have much better luck in the morning's contest. Because of variable winds, he decided to land in the lumber yard of a Menard's store instead of trying to win the hare-and-hound contest.

Still, the winds did not ruin a beautiful morning's flight, he said.

"It's a lot like you're standing on a platform and you're watching the world move along under you," Kullander said.

When they weren't taking pictures or cheering on such crowd favorites as the Uncle Sam balloon, spectators had the opportunity to walk inside a balloon half-inflated on the ground.

"Everyone loves it, especially the kids," Kullander said.

"People wander around in it, and kids bounce off the walls."

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BALLOON RIDES: See Town Day from the sky

Winchester, MA - Look up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon! To celebrate the town of Winchester’s Annual Town Day RE/MAX Leading Edge is offering balloon rides in the world famous RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon.

Rides will be offered for a suggested donation of $5 for children and $10 for adults. All proceeds will benefit the Winchester Hospital Breast Cancer Center. The RE/MAX Balloon will be located at Manchester Field. Tethered rides will be made available to the public from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., weather permitting.

RE/MAX Leading Edge will also be sponsoring a booth with information on breast cancer and how it is possible to support The Miracle Home Program of The Children’s Miracle Network team or the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure on Sept. 26. That evening to continue the festivities of Town Day, RE/MAX will also be sponsoring fireworks starting at 9:15 p.m. at Manchester Field, 100 Mystic Valley Parkway.

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