Author: Plano Balloon Festival, Inc.

FESTIVAL PREVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHER BADGE DRAWING

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival is going to inflate a hot air balloon in the parking lot at Central Market in Plano on Monday, August 19 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.  We’re going to be giving away free general admission tickets to the festival so come by and see us!

 

If you’re really into food then you might get hypnotized by Hatch during Hatchsteria happening August 7-20! Central Market is featuring over 200 specialty Hatch-infused goodness around every corner within the store.

 

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RED HOT 2019 RACE SHIRTS TURN UP YOUR RUN

Plano Balloon Festival Races officially unveils the red hot 2019 race shirts that will turn UP your run! The Texas temperatures get heated and these gender specific technical shirts are on fire.

 

Each race registration also includes a custom finisher medal featuring nine hot air balloons to represent the 9th year for the Plano Balloon Festival Races.  This year the distances include the Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, Sky High Challenge, Elevate Challenge, and 1K fun run.

 

The highly anticipated photos of the finisher medals were revealed in March and the unveiling posted to our blog site.  General registration for all distances ends August 31 at midnight and then prices increase. Runners receive a shirt, finisher medal, a hot breakfast is served in the runners village, race day parking pass, and tickets to the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival that is proudly celebrating 40 Years of Ballooning!

 

https://blog.planoballoonfest.org/index.php/pbf-races-unveils-5k-and-1k-finisher-medals/

 

 

INTOUCH CREDIT UNION PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL VOTED BEST OF PLANO

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival is honored to be recognized as the Best Event/Festival by the readers of Plano Magazine! After 201,564 votes from online readers the Best of Plano Magazine 2019 winners have been officially announced.

 

The list of nominees for all categories were originally chosen by the Plano Magazine staff and contributors. These nominees were voted on by the public at PlanoMagazine.com to determine the winners with the most votes for each category. Voting was open through May 17 and then closed in preparation for the exciting reveal.

 

This is the third year that the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival has been selected as the Best Event/Festival by readers and previously recognized in 2017 and 2018. Plano Magazine invited the Best of Plano to celebrate recently at The District at Willow Bend!

 

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PILOT STEVE JONES BALLOONING FOR 43 YEARS AROUND THE WORLD

You could say it was love at first flight. Steve Jones’ father attended the US National Balloon Championships in Indianola, Iowa, in 1976, working on a balloon crew and then riding in the balloon. He called Steve on his way home, raving about the experience and trying to convince Steve to partner with him and buy a balloon. Steve was certain that his dad had lost his mind; nevertheless, he consented and soon thereafter he was hooked on the experience. He earned his pilot’s license, a requirement for balloon piloting, and became a member of the ballooning community, enjoying the camaraderie and the competitions.

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FREE HALF MARATHON TRAINING WITH CRAIG RANCH RUNNING CLUB

Sunday, June 30 the Craig Ranch Running Club invites runners to come out at 6:15 a.m. to the 2019 Kick-Off of a free 12 week half marathon training program. This is open to the public and a great way to get ready for the Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon and meet the pace team.

 

The training schedule indicates the meet-up locations that include Craig Ranch Fitness in McKinney on Sunday, Monday and Thursday, and Lawler Middle School in Frisco on Wednesday.

 

The Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon is Sunday, September 22, 2019 and all runners receive a shirt, custom finisher medal, parking pass, and tickets to the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival that is proudly celebrating 40 Years of Ballooning!

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BITTEN BY THE BALLOONING BUG

They say time flies when you’re having fun. It certainly must, because it’s been over 30 years since his first flight, and Michael Scott is still having fun. In October 1987, Scott and his family visited the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta while on vacation.

 

 

“We found a balloon that we had seen flying [back home] in Oklahoma City and crewed for them that week. My father got a short flight during that week, and he was bitten by the ballooning bug. We bought our first balloon about six weeks later,” recalls Scott.

 

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CELEBRATE GLOBAL RUNNING DAY THROUGH JUNE 30

Global Running Day is celebrated in more than 150 countries around the world and encourages everyone to get moving on the designated day of June 5, 2019. This year the Plano Balloon Festival Races want to extend that celebration for the entire month by offering a 15% discount on all distances. That includes the Half Marathon, Sky High Challenge, Elevate Challenge, 10K, 5K and 1K races. Use the code CELEBRATE before midnight on June 30th to receive the special pricing.

 

“It doesn’t matter how fast you run or how far you go—what’s important is that you take part, and how you do it is up to you. Run a lap around your block, take your dog for a long walk, or call your friends for a pick-up game in the park. The important thing is that you have fun being active—and you inspire others to join you.” – Global Running Day

 

 

The Plano Balloon Festival Races are schedule for Saturday, September 21, 2019 and Sunday, September 22, 2019 at the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival.

 

All participants in each distance will receive dazzling commemorative finisher medals featuring 9 hot air balloons! Plus all participants receive a gender specific, short sleeve, dry fit style race shirt, two tickets to the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival plus parking on race day.

 

PBF RACES UNVEILS 5K AND 1K FINISHER MEDALS

We’re marching into the six month countdown for the Plano Balloon Festival Races with the unveiling of the 1K and 5K finisher medals! The 9th Annual PBF Races include custom finisher medals for each distance that reflect a hot air balloon for each year.

 

These three inch custom medals were designed by Running Awards & Apparel and have unique features on each one. The 1K finisher medal is blue with 11 colors and jump ring attachment to the satin printed ribbon.

 

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ASCEND INTO SPRING AND START TRAINING FOR THE PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL RACES

Ascend into Spring and sign-up for early runner registration for the Plano Balloon Festival Races. Early registration for the Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, 1K, Elevate Challenge, and Sky High Challenge ends on March 31st. Starting in April the prices increase up to $15 more per distance.

 

The Plano Balloon Festival Races will be held Saturday, September 21, 2019 and Sunday, September 22, 2019 at the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. The race location is at Oak Point Park and the Course Maps give details about water stations, starting/finish lines, mile markers and restrooms.

 

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AN UNLIKELY PILOT – GUY GAUTHIER

An Unlikely Pilot – Guy Gauthier written by Maridee Dietzel

 

Guy Gauthier was terrified. Being afraid of heights, he realized that taking a ride in a hot air balloon may not have been his best idea. He survived, but as he walked away, Guy declared, “I’ll never buy one of those things!”

 

He and his six brothers would pursue ground-level sports. However, after competing in motorcycle racing for a number of years, the siblings were looking for a new, less messy sport that they could participate in and still be clean enough to be welcome in restaurants or even in their homes. Several more refined pastimes were mentioned, such as hang gliding, sailing, speedboating, and yes, even ballooning.

 

That was on a Sunday evening. On Wednesday, Guy received a call from one of his brothers, telling him, “We just bought a balloon, and your part is $3000.”

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