Beautiful Balloons
What do Moby Duck, Happy Rooster, Midlife Crisis, Pickled Orange and Wild Goose all have in common?
They’re five of 12 hot air balloons that will take to the skies above Coeur d’Alene Labor Day weekend.
The fourth annual Lake Coeur d’Alene BalloonFest will take place Sept. 3 to 6, and will include three morning launches, a 5K race and three night glows, where grounded balloons will be lit up. Visitors will also be able to experience tethered flights for $10, with proceeds benefiting Coeur d’Alene area organizations.
“Just come out and see all the pretty balloons and enjoy a beautiful morning in the Pacific Northwest,” said Howard Alexander, a Spokane resident who will pilot the Happy Rooster balloon at the event.
About 10,000 people attended BalloonFest last year raising nearly $10,000 for local organizations, and event organizer Kiki Miller said she hopes to see double that number of people this year.
The balloon launches are subject to cancellation or delay depending on the weather. Winds over 10 mph or rain can ground the hot air balloons, though one canceled launch doesn’t mean all of the others will be canceled. A balloonmeister, usually a local pilot familiar with area weather, decides if the conditions are safe about 10 minutes before each scheduled launch takes place.
“I’m hoping, since the weather’s crummy now, that it’s going to clear up and be good so we can all fly every day,” said Forey Walter, a Spokane pilot who will fly the Spokane balloon in the event.
Walter owns Avian Balloon Co., a business that makes hot air balloons for pilots all over the country. He said most average-sized balloons cost about $19,000 to $24,000 and can hold three people in its basket.
BalloonFest will feature six Spokane and North Idaho pilots, including Don Gibson of Spokane.
Gibson said riding in a hot air balloon is simply a unique experience.
“You kind of just float,” he said. “If you get in the balloon and close your eyes, I could take you a mile up in the air and you’d never know.”
He said the best part of piloting a balloon is meeting people who have never ridden in one before and seeing their reactions.
At BalloonFest, Gibson will pilot two different balloons, Autumn Rainbow and Moby Duck, a yellow balloon shaped like a big plastic rubber duck that he built himself in 1996.
The Reach for the Stars balloon, named after a California-based group, is equipped to allow disabled children to ride for free, though BalloonFest organizers are still looking for a sponsor for it.
“Some of these kids have never walked, but they feel themselves being elevated and I get goose bumps every time,” said Miller, the event organizer. “It’s just a phenomenal program.”
BalloonFest started in 2001 as a way for Miller to raise funds for local groups and to provide North Idaho with a prominent Labor Day festivity. She said she had always enjoyed watching hot air balloons fly, and decided to try and bring them to Coeur d’Alene. Now her goal is to turn the annual event into a nonprofit organization to benefit area groups.
“It’s just a wonderful event,” said Alexander, the Spokane pilot of Happy Rooster. “If the weather cooperates and everybody gets to fly, seeing a number of colorful balloons in the air – whether you’re in a balloon or on the ground – is just a really pretty sight.”