Fighter pilots, balloon racers seek to avoid one another this weekend

From the pink Energizer Bunny balloon to a ground-rattling F-15, pilots of the hot-air variety will briefly share the sky this weekend with counterparts in sleek, powerful jets.

The Great Forest Park Balloon Race is expected to draw 90,000 spectators on Saturday, while the Scott Air Force Base Air Show will draw crowds Saturday and Sunday.

Which raises the question: With so many balloons and aircraft aloft, how do you keep them out of harm's way?

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a "Notice to Airmen" on Thursday alerting pilots to the presence of "high performance aerial demonstrations" during this weekend's air show at Scott.


The airspace covered by the notice has a radius of 7 miles around Scott and reaches up to altitudes of 15,500 feet.

It's the job of the air show organizers to keep the performing aircraft within that defined air space, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro. Likewise, pilots who aren't participating in the air show cannot operate in areas covered by the notice.

There is no special notice for the balloon race.

Pilots of private aircraft and those operating the hot-air balloons must follow visual flight rules, meaning they have to watch out for one another, Molinaro said.

The balloons are scheduled to launch from the Central Fields at Forest Park at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. For more information, go to greatforestparkballoonrace.com.

The air show at Scott will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. For more information, go to scottairshow.com.

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Hot-air balloon pilot, paraplegic to speak

Michael Glen, the first paraplegic in the world to become a hot-air balloon pilot, will share his inspiring story with students at two south Reno schools this week.

Glen is scheduled to speak at Galena High School just after 8 a.m. Wednesday. He will then speak at Marvin Piccolo School starting between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Thursday.

He'll also offer tethered balloon rides to young people with disabilities. All riders must obtain a ticket, and can do so by contacting Laura Dickey at 775-334-3123.

Glen's trip to Reno is being sponsored in part by the Reno Access Advisory Committee. The spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down occurred when he was involved in a car accident at age 21. An Arizona resident, he shares his story and his hot-air balloon with people throughout the country, and serves as an ambassador for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

Glen also is scheduled to attend the Great Reno Balloon Race, which runs Friday to Sept. 13.

For more information about Michael Glen, visit www.rollingpilot.com.

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Hot air balloons set to be launched in Lincoln

LINCOLN -- Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce executive director Andi Hake has never been a fan of roller coaster rides.

"They make my stomach turn," Hake says.

But hot air balloons? That's a different story.

"I don't like heights, but riding in a hot air balloon is a blast. It's smooth, calm and just a beautiful sight whether you are on the ground or in the air."

Chances are Hake will be both on the ground and in the air during the annual Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival, which begins Friday and continues through Sunday. The chamber organizes the annual event split between the Logan County Airport and downtown Lincoln. The Art Fair is now in its 26th year, while the Balloon Fest is in its 21st year.

More than 40 hot air balloons are scheduled to launch at 6 p.m. Friday evening and take off again during a 6:30 a.m. sunrise launch on Saturday.

"We're going to have a great weekend with beautiful weather and beautiful balloons and it's a wonderful way to show off Lincoln and Logan County," said Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder.

A complete schedule of events is available at the new and improved Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival Web site, www.lincolnillinois.com.

"We try different things every year and there we are always looking for new options and ideas," Hake said. "This year, we are adding a professional wrestling show. We've done the research and have found that it's a very popular form of entertainment and that's the bottom line. We are trying to entertain people here and find something for everyone to enjoy."

Features at the airport include a carnival, remote-control airplane demonstrations, helicopter rides, airplane rides and tethered balloon rides.

Downtown, the art and craft festivals have been revamped. Hake credits volunteer Marty Ahrends with being one of the driving forces.

"We have a lot of new artists as well as our loyal and favorite artists, but it's really a nice diversity," Ahrends said. "Some of the crafts we have seen already have been amazing."

The flea market and craft fair downtown at Scully Park begins at 3 p.m. today.

"The chamber has worked to develop activities and attractions to bridge the Lincoln Art Fair in Latham Park to the flea market and craft fair in Scully Park," Hake said. "The addition of a craft fair in Scully Park will enhance the downtown experience, while Kickapoo Street from Latham Park to Scully Park will be filled with family-friendly activity for everyone."

New options include a Family Fun Park, 'The Art of Wine' wine tasting event, a quad bungee jump, 50-foot obstacle course, Football Fun area and carriage rides will entertain festival-goers who can travel the Kickapoo Street corridor from park to park. Downtown will also have its own live entertainment. A hot-air balloon inflation is planned for Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the corner of Kickapoo and Pulaski streets.

Also on Saturday, the Logan Railsplitting Association will do a demonstration at 1 p.m. at the corner of Kickapoo and Pulaski. Latham Park will host the True Blue Barbershop Quartet on Saturday, and Scully Park will have the Country Mavericks on Saturday and the Amazing Elvis on Sunday.

Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival

Where: Logan County Airport and Downtown Lincoln

When: 3 - 11 p.m. today, 6:30 a.m. - 11 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday

On the Net: www.lincolnillinois.com

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Tehama County Balloon fest to take off

Tehama County will be looking to the skies on Oct. 24 and 25 as hot air balloons take off for the inaugural Ribs, Rods and Rides Hot Air Balloon Festival at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning.

What's neat about the festival is it is three different groups of people and their die hard groups, said Rolling Hills Marketing Director Kate Grissom. All three groups together will make for a really fun festival. The whole thing is a spectator event and most of it will be free.

In addition to balloons, participants will be able to visit a classic car show and an invitation- only rib cook off with proceeds from the day going to the Red Bluff/Tehama County Chamber of Commerce.

Grissom said Rolling Hills' involvement wasn't just about getting businesses to donate to the chamber.

Our mission is community improvement and development, Grissom said.

We believe if we can be a partner in raising funds, and by providing an event that not only encourages residents and businesses alike to participate we've created a sense of pride in Tehama County and that's a win-win situation.

Chamber President Kris Behrens said the loss of the Nitro Nationals Boat Drags has left the chamber in definite need of funding. She said she was also excited about drawing new people to the area.

The chamber's charge is to support local businesses, but also, as a partner to the Conventions and Business Bureau, to bring visitors to the area, Behrens said. (The festival) brings a new and different venue to Tehama County.

We've really done a fabulous job of preserving our heritage, but this provides a venue totally separate from that, which touches the same, but also a different, group.

The festival will run from daybreak, about 7 a.m., when the balloons take off, to 2 p.m. with lots for spectators to do and see, including wine and olive tasting, games and live music. Rib tasting will be included in the event for a price, which has not been set yet.

Hot air balloon rides will be available to the general public for a price, which also has not been set, with all proceeds from the rides going to the chamber.

Balloons will be tethered, but people will still experience the feeling of lifting off and coming back down, Behrens said.

Orland resident Russ James will be heading up the balloon portion of the event as the Balloonmeister. He will be in charge of organizing pilots and checking weather conditions before take off.

I'm getting kind of excited about bringing an event like this that might bring some notoriety to this part of the world, James said.

As for lift off weather, James said the weather doesn't have to be sunny.

The biggest thing is the wind, James said. When you get more than 6, 7, or 8 mph when you have a balloon on the ground, it's about 60 feet in diameter and 60 feet tall and it wants to go with the wind. Things get a little bit rough and tumble.

James said he has pilots coming from as far as Reno and Carson City, Nev. and Medford and Grants Pass, Ore.

James said part of what makes riding in a hot air balloon fun is the people he meets and the camaraderie with those he flies with.

As a rule, we don't land where we take off like a plane because we go where the wind goes, James said. Ballooning is all about having fun. In a lot of cases it's kind of an adventure to see where you go.

Taking off at dawn avoids conditions found later in the day, such as updrafts and downdrafts, he said.

Sunrise is ordinarily the calmest and coolest time of the day, James said. Not that balloons can't fly (in hotter periods) but you can't, say, if there's an updraft that takes your control away or a downdraft that slams you to the ground or into a tree or power line.

Sponsorships for the festival are available and include festival ride for $1,000 and friends of the festival for $750.

Those interested in sponsorship can call Alan Foley at 528- 1328 or Elizabeth Soder at 736- 1474. For information call 527- 6220.

Entry fee to the show for those with classic cars Further information about the festival can be found at www.rollinghillscasino.com/rrr.

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Chesterton to host 'Wizard of Oz' hot-air balloon

CHESTERTON, Ind. - Giant ruby slippers will hover over Chesterton when a hot-air balloon marking the 70th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz" visits the city.

The green balloon will be on display Sunday at the Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve in the city about 35 miles southeast of Chicago.

The balloon is 75 feet tall and 55 feet in diameter. It depicts the red shoes worn by Judy Garland's character Dorothy, the Yellow Brick Road and 30-foot-high images of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion.

The balloon's appearance is part of a national tour commemorating the film. It has made stops in Kansas, California, Ohio and Nevada so far.

Chesterton will host its annual Oz Festival Sept. 18-20.

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Navy Pier to launch tethered hot air balloon rides

Ok, so you’ve seen the city of Chicago from the water, from the skydeck of a skyscraper, from the top of a tour bus and from the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier. You’ll soon be able to get a view from Navy Pier at over twice the height of the Ferris wheel, according to a Chicago Tribune article posted today.

According to the report, tethered hot air balloon rides may be available at Navy Pier as soon as next week after the Chicago Plan Commission voted in favor of the proposal this afternoon. The rides would be introduced temporarily until October.

Rides will go up when the weather cooperates and an 8 to 10 minute ride would run $25 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. The ride would raise passengers about 350 feet. The Ferris wheel takes passengers up 150 feet. With ideal weather conditions, up to 1,100 passengers could ride up in the sky in a single day.

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Balloon championship set to take flight

A Texas pilot will try this week to set one new record and tie another when the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship is held in Battle Creek for the first time.

A win this week would give Joe Heartsill of San Angelo, Texas, his third consecutive win, something never done since the Balloon Federation of America held its first championship in 1963 in Kalamazoo. A win also would give Heartsill six championships and tie him for the most ever, a record set by former Michigan pilot Bruce Comstock in 1987.

"This year is kind of exciting," Heartsill said Friday from his home before making the trip north. "We have got a goal and seven would be luckier than six but I have to take it one at a time.

"This year is kind of exciting because I have a chance to make it three in a row and in three different cities,” he added.

Heartsill, 59, who has his own business making real estate investments, won last year in Columbia, S.C., two years ago in Waco, Texas, 1999 in Rantoul, Ill., 1997 in Columbia, Mo., and 1992 in Middletown, Ohio.

“The cool part is being at different locations,” he said.

Heartsill will be one of 54 pilots competing for the 2009 BFA championship, which will be held Wednesday through Sunday at Kellogg Community College. After media and sponsor flights on Wednesday, competition begins Thursday morning, and is scheduled each morning and evening concluding Sunday morning. Fifteen fiesta or fun flyers also will be in the skies.

The nationals have never been flown in Battle Creek and only once in Michigan. Organizer Derrick Jones said he hopes to announce this week that the BFA National Championship will be held in Battle Creek in 2010 and 2011.

It’s the second hot air balloon event held this year following the Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival over the July 4 weekend. The two events are not connected. The National Championship will replace the Holiday Balloon Fest, held each December for the past 10 years.

For Heartsill and many other pilots, Battle Creek will be familiar terrain. He has flown at the mid-summer event several times, winning as an individual and with two others taking the Team U.S. Nationals in 1997.

“It’s almost like playing on home turf,” Heartsill said “We are looking forward to Battle Creek. We want to get in a couple of practice flights. It should be fun. And I am going to do what I always have done, try to be steady and not make any mistakes. Try to be steady on every flight. You try to win the war and not the battle.”
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Winning won’t be easy, Heartsill said. The field includes former national and world champions like Steve Jones, Owen Keown, Al Nels, Johnny Petrehn and his brother Paul Petrehn and Nick Donner.

Heartsill guessed his toughest competition will come from the Petrehn brothers and Nick Donner and his brother, Chase.

“I am always watching for those guys but there are a lot of good competitors out there with a shot. This is for an opportunity to earn a slot at the next world championship and there are a number of competitors who would like that opportunity.”

Two-time winner Paul Petrehn of Howell said many in the field have a good chance to win, including his brother and Heartsill.

Petrehn said many in the competitive ballooning community are watching Heartsill because he has a chance for three in a row and six overall championships.

“It’s becoming a conversation piece,” Petrehn said. “He is putting himself in the hall of fame. It’s not an easy thing to do but Joe is one who could do it. I know he has it in the back of his mind.”

Paul Petrehn, a two-time national champion who won the 2009 Field of Flight and has flown in Battle Creek many times, said several of the pilots have a comfort level because they have competed here so many times.

“It allows me to sleep in my own bed Tuesday night and come over Wednesday,” he said. “Having the familiarity with the summer event and having flown in the winter (at the Holiday Balloon Fest) it gives peace of mind to the pilots and crews.”

The only Battle Creek pilot competing is a rookie, James Mitchell, 21, an aviation student at Western Michigan University.

“It’s my first time and I am going into it looking for learning perspectives,” Mitchell said. “The best pilots in the country will be here and it will be great to be able to fly with them.”

Mitchell said he is realistic about his chances after three years and 150 hours of flight time.
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“It’s always nice to go in with an attitude,” he said. “But these individuals are extremely well experienced. I crewed at the nationals last year and I know what they can do and I have flown against some of them at other events and for me to finish in the top half of the field, I would feel good about myself.”

As pilots like Heartsill, Petrehn and Mitchell prepare for flying, organizers said their preparations are about complete.

“We are good,” Derrick Jones said. “We are glad the time has come after four months of total chaos but we are ready to go and the sponsors and the community are ready.”

The BFA and Jones and the Holiday Balloon Fest board announced in May plans to bring the nationals to Battle Creek.

All agreed it was a short time to prepare but Jones said Friday the Holiday Balloon Fest board and committees, with 10 years of experience organizing an event in Battle Creek and with help from the BFA, were able to prepare in time.

“The staff is ready and by Monday there will be a few pilots in town and the officials will be here and we will get the odds and ends finished and be ready on Wednesday,” Jones said.

He said the organization has put together the event with a $225,000 budget of cash and in-kind contributions including prize money for competitors of $15,700 plus $1,000 for fiesta pilots. About 200 volunteers will be working on the event.

All admission is free and Jones said while there will be balloons in the sky both mornings and evenings beginning Wednesday, vendors, activities for children and some entertainment will be only Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Kellogg Community College.

Parking and admission are free although organizers are asking people to bring a non-perishable food item for the Food Bank of South Central Michigan.

“We had a very short window but things are coming together even better than we hoped,” said Andy Baird, president of the Balloon Federation of America.

“We are very fortunate to have local knowledge, experience and talent and that made all the difference and it is all coming together.”

Baird said bringing the nationals back to the Midwest after the past eight years in South Carolina and Texas is a positive move.

“We are fortunate that the Midwest brings us pretty good weather this time of the year.”

Trace Christenson can be reached at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecr.gannett.com.

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Hot Air Balloon Festival Takes Utah's Ogden Valley to New Heights

Eden, UT - The serenity of an August sunrise is suddenly punctuated by the roar from two 12 million BTU propane burners. The wicker basket rises imperceptibly from the ground, and we're gently flying.

Balloon pilot Russ Griffes of American Fork, Utah, skillfully guides our craft between about a dozen others, slowly rising above Wolf Creek Utah's verdant Festival Field as the first rays of morning sun beam from behind the mountain ridges to our east. Except for an occasional burst of heat from the burners, the smooth tranquility is unmatched on a summer morning. Griffes instinctively seeks out different air currents at various altitudes to gently circle the Festival Field not once, but twice, as other vessels take to the skies before we slowly drift off to the north.

There are many ways to enjoy the off-season in ski country, but none more unique than the 15th Annual Ogden Valley Balloon and Artist Festival, taking place throughout this weekend at Wolf Creek Utah and their adjacent ski resort located in the tiny hamlet of Eden, northeast of Ogden and at the base of the steep road leading to Powder Mountain ski area. The full event calendar includes not only hot air balloons but also arts and crafts, international foods, musical entertainment, kids' games, a Mountain Man Rendezvous, climbing wall and Plein Air art competition.

The Entertainment Valley and Entertainment Mountain stages at Wolf Creek Utah Ski Resort feature a full lineup from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a steady stream of diverse musical acts on each platform including Amir Jackson, McCall Erickson, High Water, the Ogden Valley Chamber Orchestra, the Sage Junction Band, the Ghetto Blasters Band and Danielle Vaughn. Wolf Creek Utah Ski Resort is also the venue for the arts and crafts exhibits, international food booths, Saturday's Plein Air art competition and more. Scenic chairlift rides are offered for a nominal fee.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m. the activity shifts to Festival Field, one mile north of the four-way stop in Eden for Saturday night's all-you-can-eat dinner and more music from Che'Zuro, Pladdohg and Shades of Grey. Saturday night's Balloon Glow, when the crafts' propane burners illuminate their canopies brightly against the night sky, shouldn't be missed.

The highlights of the Festival, however, are the launches of the event's namesake hot air balloons. A balloon launch takes place, weather permitting, at 7 a.m. each morning while an all-you-can-eat breakfast is served at Festival Field for $8.00. For those with the urge to take flight, pilots will bring you along for $175 per person.

For those who equate flying with turbulence, gliding through the morning stillness in a hot air balloon is a whole new experience. Close your eyes, and you wouldn't even realize that you're in the air. But it's impossible to shut out the stunning views of the Utah landscape stretching in every direction, from the low foothills at the base of the Powder Mountain access road to the craggy peaks looming above the ski slopes of nearby Snowbasin.

Griffes has only been flying hot air balloons for three years, but has yearned to take flight since his first tethered balloon ride as an infant. After moving to Utah from California and finding out that Utah is, in his words, a "Mecca" for hot air ballooning, Griffes told his wife, "Honey, we've got to have one!

"We have the canyons and the rivers, and the lakes and the streams, the valleys and the hills...and that creates winds at different levels, so there's a lot of flyability here," Griffes explains. "You can go 200 feet each direction and go in a different direction. It's really neat. We have people come from all over the world to fly here. We can do a lot of games and come back to the field, and that just doesn't happen in a lot of other places."

One nearby balloon flies both the U.S. and Canadian flags. Another, the gigantic Energizer Bunny, a.k.a. the "Hot Hare" is based in Missouri. Griffes, however, seems to know most of his fellow pilots and calls out greetings as we pass by one another in the morning stillness. I'm snapping photos like a madman, but there are far more people on the ground taking pictures of us.

Two hours, however, pass like seconds, and before long Griffes is in radio communication with his wife driving their chase vehicle, coordinating a place to land. Griffes spots a vacant field and is ready to put down before we crest a rise and he spots for the first time a barbed wire fence guarding his intended landing zone. We thus put down a bit earlier than planned, his $45,000 aircraft bumping the land with a thud before bouncing once and coming to rest in dry brush next to a new road paved for the next phase of vacation residences.

The Hot Hare is deflating in an adjacent field. "That's what happens when the Bunny's batteries run out," Griffes quips.

I get a taste for just how much work is involved in ballooning as I help Griffes, his family and friends "burp" the balloon and stuff it into what seems like an impossibly small duffel bag. Surprisingly, yet predictably it fits, and I climb into the back of their Suburban for the short ride back to Festival Field.

For those interested in attending this weekend's 15th Annual Ogden Valley Balloon and Artist Festival, visit the Festival's website for more information at www.ogdenvalleyballoonfestival.com. Except for the balloon rides, kids' games and rides, chairlift rides and the climbing wall, all activities and exhibits are free of charge to attend.

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Findlay skies to fill up with hot air balloons

The skies in Findlay will come alive with more than 30 hot air balloons from Aug. 14 through 16 for the city’s 10th annual Flag City Balloon Fest.

The festival involves experienced balloon pilots from all over the country, who will compete against each other in a four- or five-mile radius to drop bean bags from thousands of feet in the air onto a marked spot on the ground.

Guests enter for free and watch the balloon competition in the sky while browsing food and arts vendors, viewing classic and sports car shows, military displays and climbing rock walls. Voices for Children, a legal advocacy group for children’s rights, will also set up inflated obstacle courses, kite flying activities, face painting and pony rides.

“My son is a pilot and I would go to these other events, and in 1999, there was so much hype about 2000 coming that I said we ought to have something like this in Findlay to celebrate the new millennium,” said Dan Clinger, who founded the festival in 2000.

Since then, he has found multiple sponsors, such as First Federal Bank and RCM Architects, to cover a $55,000 annual budget.

Though there is no cost for admission and parking, guests should bring cash for entering raffles, buying food or art and keeping the kids entertained, Clinger said. Most of the children’s activities will cost a small amount, but all the proceeds will benefit Voices for Children. Other raffles will benefit Cancer Patient Services or the United Way of Hancock County, which accumulated around $1,000 last year, he said.

Guests can also pay $20 for a tethered hot air balloon ride or around $40 for helicopter rides, Clinger said.

The festival will begin at 5 p.m. Aug. 14, and the balloons will take off at around 6 p.m. The next day, pilots will start about 7 a.m., and then prepare for another flight about 6 p.m. Aug. 16 will feature a morning flight at the same time.

Each pilot will compete for points that will earn them national credit and raise their rankings so they might be able to participate in the national Balloon Federation of America competitions in Battle Creek, Michigan in late August, Clinger said.

To navigate wind speeds and accurately land their bean bags on the marked spots, pilots have to raise and lower their balloons vertically to comply with the varying wind depending on altitude. Pilots can reach altitudes as high as 12,000 feet without requiring oxygen masks, Clinger said.

Costing as much as $40,000 to get started as a hot air balloon pilot, to purchase the basket and equipment, Clinger said this is an expensive hobby. That does not include the trailer balloon owners need to transport their massive equipment and the fabric for the balloon, which usually wears out after 400 to 500 hours of flying.

The festival will be located at Emory Adams Park, on the corner of 6th and Blanchard streets.

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Ballooners take to the skies in annual hot air balloon flight

Hot air balloons took to the sky Saturday morning for the annual Lake Travis Flight.

Dozens of balloons take part in the Central Texas Ballooning Association's flight every year.

"I've been ballooning since I was 13, and my dad's a pilot, so I've been around it for a long time," balloon pilot Cheri White said. "I love the peacefulness of it, the flying above the landscape. It's a beautiful way to see the earth and see Austin this morning."

That's just half the fun. White said the ballooning group is like one big family.

"Where you land, landowners are always really happy to see you," she said. "It's a good time."

To find out more about the balloons and crews who made the flight Saturday morning, visit Main.org/CTBA. To join, or just learn more, you can meet the group the second Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at Tres Amigos, on Highway 290 at Highway 183.

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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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