Hot air balloon crew volunteers assist out-of-town pilots at the Plano Balloon Festival. Zoe White is a local resident that signed up in 2019 and was assigned to help with Peg Leg Pete the Pirate Parrot hot air balloon. Zoe is a Plano Senior High School graduate and enjoys sharing photography on her Instagram account SweetAzurePhotos.
Continue reading “ZOE WHITE CREWS FOR PEG LEG PETE THE PIRATE PARROT”Category: Hot Air Balloons
PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL NAMES CENTRAL MARKET AS NEW TITLE SPONSOR
Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. announces Central Market as the new title sponsor for the annual event set for Sept. 18-20, 2020. The three-day Festival, which began in 1980, has grown into the largest hot air balloon event in Plano and within the Lone Star State. The City of Plano is the Official Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas and hosts more than 90,000 attendees during Festival weekend at Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve.
The Festival and Central Market are both passionate about creating unforgettable experiences for people within the community. Central Market initially stepped in as a sponsor of the Kids Fun Zone, then the Plano Balloon Festival Races, and in 2019 served event attendees fresh food, like their signature grilled cheese sandwiches from a food concession booth at the Festival.
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SOAR TO LEGACY WEST FOR FREE FESTIVAL TICKETS
If you like to fly where the wind blows then you’ll want to soar to Legacy West on Thursday, September 5th for an uplifting photo in their “Big Sky” balloon! The Plano Balloon Festival team will be on-site to greet and answer questions about the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival coming up September 20-22, 2019. We’ll also be there giving away two free tickets to each person who snaps a selfie between 11:00 a.m. and Noon (limited quantity while they last during this promotional event).
The Big Sky Balloon photo op is located directly across from Neighborhood Goods in Legacy West on Windrose Avenue. Directions and a map with parking garages provide more information for easy access to the location.
Visit Plano is also giving away an exciting weekend package that includes: a 1-night stay at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Plano/Richardson, 4 tickets to the festival, VIP parking, a $50 restaurant gift card, and a picnic basket full of goodies.
InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival Celebrating 40 Years Of Ballooning
SPECIAL SHAPE HOT AIR BALLOONS & PILOTS
Among the more than 50 hot air balloons at the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival you’ll find a handful of special shapes that evoke love, joy, swashbuckling fun, and even make you meow.
Celebrating 40 Years of Ballooning in Plano, we proudly share these as the beloved special shapes and pilots participating in 2019. And if you’d like to volunteer to get a hands-on experience with the balloons then sign-up for a shift with a hot air balloon crew. Volunteers help with inflation, lift-off, landings, the evening glow, and receive a free festival shirt.
BIMBO BEAR – PILOT: JOHN PETREHN
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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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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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.
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.”
THE HOT BUSINESS OF BALLOON LOVE
“The Hot Business of Balloon Love” written by Maridee Dietzel
It began with a love story. Tamie Folley and Mike Shrum met at a ballooning event in the Philippines. They shared a passion for ballooning, and about a year later, they began dating.
Fast forward to 2016 when they opened their business, Happily Ever After Balloon Company. Tamie was crewing for a friend in Albuquerque when he mentioned that he had an idea that may interest them. He had noticed the shirts Tamie and Mike’s crew wore when working their pink camouflage balloon; the shirts feature a heart with wings on it. The designer wanted to build a balloon in the shape of a heart, but not just an ordinary heart. This heart has personality!
VOLUNTEER TURNED HOBBYIST KEITH BERRY TO PILOT FOX 4 NEWS BALLOON
By: Amanda Fazzino
Balloon pilot Keith Berry caught a bug for hot air ballooning 29 years ago. “I flew as volunteer crew at a balloon festival in Missouri in 1990,” Berry recalls. “I was immediately hooked!”
That one act of service launched a decades-long commitment to the sport.
“It’s one of the most awesome feelings to be free and in control of a 75 foot tall, 50 foot wide bubble of hot air floating through the sky,” Berry says. “It’s like being able to walk on air!”
Continue reading “VOLUNTEER TURNED HOBBYIST KEITH BERRY TO PILOT FOX 4 NEWS BALLOON”
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