13 Colorful Balloons came to strut their stuff in Alpine over this year’s Labor Day Weekend. Crowds were entertained by the overwhelming spectacle of it all at Sierra La Rana. All 13 pilots came to Alpine with hopes of flying at least one day during the weekend – and ended up being able to fly two of the three days! In addition, one pilot was able to present a program with his tethered balloon for the Alpine Middle school. Highlights of the weekend included:
Friday evening was the Pilot Check-in and Sponsor reception at Texas Fusion where the pilots and sponsors were able to meet, relax, and cut the trail dust.
On Saturday morning, all 13 of the pilots were able to fly. The winds were perfect, and almost all of the pilots had at least 1 hour of flight time. Several balloons were able to perform “hops” by touching down, exchanging passengers, and taking off again! The weather was about as perfect as you could wish for.
Saturday lunch was the Pilot/Crew/Sponsor Cookout and Potluck at the Kokernot Municipal Park Pavilion. Several of the pilots brought their “cowboy woks” and cooked up donated chicken and beef fajitas, vegetables and tortillas. Along with homemade posoli and lots of fixins’, everyone brought a dish to share, and a grand time was had by all of the pilots, crews and sponsors!
On Sunday morning, the winds were a little too high for flying – 10 mph. (If the winds are more than 8 mph, the balloons cannot launch. The bigger balloons cannot launch if the winds are more than 5 mph.) However, four balloons were able to inflate and “stand up” – giving the crowd a wonderful close up view to inflating, deflating, and packing up a balloon!
Sunday evening was the Fire Concert and Balloon Glow at Buck Stadium. Our pilots put their “game on” and gave us a show to remember! Three of the balloons that inflated for the “glow” were able to stay inflated for the whole 30-minute performance! (This was very unusual, as most of the time, the evening winds pick up just as the concert begins, which means the balloons must be taken down.) Thanks especially to Chuck Wilson, Alpine H.S. band director, for preparing the perfect music and giving the pilots expert direction. All proceeds from the Fire Concert admission donations and concession sales benefited the Big Bend Amateur Radio Club. One audience member emailed the Big Bend Balloon Bash, saying the fire concert not only exceeded his and his family’s expectations, but exceeded anything he saw in Albuquerque!
On Monday morning, the winds were 12-15 mph, so unfortunately, none of the balloons were able to fly. Nonetheless, all of the pilots said they had a fabulous time at this year’s rally and plan to return next year!
2010 was a very successful rally! Over 3,000 people attended the rally, and the event was covered by both Midland and Odessa television stations and newspapers. People came from as far away as Dallas, Austin, and Houston.
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