Hot air balloon set to draw in the crowds at Cricklade Festival

A HOT air balloon ride will be the main attraction at the Cricklade Town Festival which organisers confirmed this week will go ahead for its fourth consecutive year.
The festival will have an Around The World In 80 Days theme this year, with visitors able to get a bird’s eye view of the town from the hot air balloon which will be tethered to St Sampsons Junior School field.
The previous festivals, which have had circus, wild west and medieval themes, attracted thousands of visitors to the town centre.
Nigel Wynne, chairman of the festival committee, said: "It will be a truly international day, with music, dance and entertainment from all corners of the globe.
"This will be a truly unique chance to take a 100ft high trip in a tethered hot air balloon. We’ll be asking for a charitable donation towards the running of the festival in order to secure a place.
"We also hope to have some truly international dance troupes but these plans are still underway.
"If you are a local company or organisation and you would like to see the festival continue, please consider a contribution this year."

Source

Hot air balloon fest photo contest

COSHOCTON - Details for the 2009 Coshocton Hot Air Balloon Festival Photo Contest have been finalized.

Camera buffs from around the state are invited to enter their best photo or photos featuring hot air balloons. The Balloon Festival, which is hosted by the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Frontier Power Company, will be held June 5-7, at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds.

Nina Drinko, chairperson of the photo contest, has announced the following guidelines:

# All photographs must be submitted by the original photographer, along with name, address, phone number and category.

# Photos must be 5"x7", matted or mounted with a white border or background only and can not exceed 8" x 10" including border.

# Photos may be original prints or enhanced photos and will be judged separately.

# Entry deadline is 4 p.m. May 6.

# An individual may submit up to three photos per category but may not win more than one award per category aside from the People's Choice Award.

# Photographs must be in color and may be taken from areas other than Coshocton.

# By entering the contest, photographers agree to have their submitted photograph displayed or printed in the 2010 calendar without fee or other compensation.

A panel of three judges will select first, second and third place winners in each category. The general public will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite photo to select one People's Choice Award. Contest winners will be announced just prior to the evening balloon launch on Saturday, June 6.

Entries can be mailed or delivered to: Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce, 401 Main Street, Coshocton, OH 43812.

Source

Hot-air balloonists will try again Sunday

Colorful hot-air balloons are scheduled to brighten the sky around The Ranch on Sunday.

At least 17 balloon pilots from around the region, and possibly more, will launch their balloons at 7 a.m., weather permitting.

The gathering of balloonists is the rescheduled Sweetheart Balloon Rally, which was grounded two days in February by bad weather.

Residents are invited to visit The Ranch for free and watch as the balloons lift off, then float in the sky above Loveland.

The Kiwanis Club will serve a pancake breakfast, starting at 6:30 a.m., for $6.

While organizers are hoping for beautiful flying weather, they have scheduled an alternate date, April 26, in the event of wind, fog, rain or snow.

Source

Ballooning fun at Somerlea Park school

AIR travel was the theme of the day for children from Somerleas Park Junior School in Somercotes when they made their own hot air balloons.
Every class had a different theme as part of design technology week with children from year four investigating air travel and year five looking at music production.

Clare Butler, deputy head teacher at the school, said: "One of the areas we focused with was the making and release of hot air balloons. Children made their own balloons as well as helping make two giant balloons from tissue paper and glue. It got very messy.

"The balloons went up 30 feet and came back down. The children found it very exciting and absolutely loved it."

Source

Balloon crash survivor a 'miracle'

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The lone survivor of a hot air balloon crash last year is being called a miracle.

According to Keith Sproul, his doctors said he shouldn't be alive and that his positive attitude has helped in his recovery.

Sproul fell from the gondola when his hot-air balloon crashed into power lines during last year's Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Sproul said he broke a leg, foot, hip, pelvis and seven ribs. He also suffered a damaged spinal cord and collapsed and punctured lungs.

Sproul was brought to the intensive care unit at a local hospital. He woke up a month later and took his first baby steps last month.

He's had nine surgeries since his accident.

"I don't remember the accident but I've been told what happened," said Sproul.

Last October, witnesses — including Sproul's wife — watched as the pilot and his friend, Steven Lachendro, fell out of the gondola.

Lachendro died at the scene.

He was from Pennsylvania.

"We saw the man fall out of the balloon lifeless," Nicole Grant told News 13 at the time. "We were screaming, 'Help him, help him.'"

Sproul said the wind was bad that day.

"At his (Lachendro's) funeral... the children said, 'Our father was doing what he loved best he had a fantastic flight he had a bad landing keep on flying,'" Sproul said. "That's what I want remembered."

In fact, Sproul said he's planning to fly again soon and he hopes people visit this year's Balloon Fiesta with the same attitude.

Sproul said he registered for this year's Balloon Fiesta the first day he could and is already planning on building his next hot-air balloon.

"The balloonists that ask, 'Are you going to fly again?' ... They expect an answer of yes," said Sproul. "Non-balloonists get a little bit surprised, but get back on the horse as soon as you can."

Sproul is from New Jersey, and said he may stick around Albuquerque even after he's discharged later this month.

He has been flying hot air balloons for about a decade and has so far built four hot-air balloons.

Source

Hot-Air Balloon Buck

-- On Nov. 2 several seasons back, a friend and I took off to the woods for an afternoon bowhunt. We had access to a 1,500-acre farm in Oldham County, Kentucky, which is known for holding big bucks.

Earlier that morning, we hunted this same farm, and I left my Summit climbing stand on a tree. That afternoon, I moved it down a ridge where I had been seeing some good action on previous hunts. As I got situated, I glanced up the ridge to where my stand had been. A giant buck was eating acorns under my old tree!

I watched as the deer began to come my way, but at 70 yards, he decided to take a nap. I had to calm down and take inventory of what I could do to draw the buck closer. It was early in the afternoon, and I had the wind in my favor, so I decided to sit it out.

About an hour later, I began to get a bit nervous and wondered if I would get a shot at this monster. Just as I started to get desperate, I heard a loud “whoosh” from behind my stand. Startled, I looked around but saw nothing. A few seconds later, I heard the same sound.

Just then my buddy Andy got on the radio and asked if I had heard the noise. I said yes, but didn’t know what it was. Again, the sound came, but this time my buck jumped up and was getting nervous.

Just about the time I was going to leave the stand, I noticed a hot air balloon lifting from a cut cornfield about 200 yards distant. As the balloon rose, it began to drift my way. Each time the operator hit the gas, the buck moved, but in the wrong direction. Finally the balloon passed right over the buck and sent him my way. I took aim at 30 yards and made a perfect shot. The deer piled up at 30 yards.

Needless to say, I now love hot air balloons and believe that everybody should hunt with one!

Source

What's new at Legoland for 2009

“You’re only as good as your last thrill ride” is a mantra that theme park owners must curse. They know they constantly have to innovate or face a drop-off in visitors tempted away by other parks offering the world’s highest this or the world’s scariest that.
Legoland in Windsor is only too aware of that. Not satisfied with having launched a whole new "land" last year – the Land of the Vikings – the park is spending £3 million this year on its new Kingdom of the Pharaohs. KOTP is based on Lego’s mini character Johnny Thunder, an archeologist-adventurer with more than a passing resemblance to Indiana Jones, even down to the fedora and khaki shirt.
The new land has five new rides between Lego City and the Land of the Vikings in an area that used to house a circus tent.
In Laser Riders, visitors sit in one of ten specially constructed Jeeps and pass through various scenes, including a spider’s lair and a laboratory, using laser guns to shoot as many targets as possible

Source