Plano Balloon Fest

PHOTOGRAPHER BADGE DRAWING SELECTS TWENTY WINNERS

Twenty local shutterbugs were randomly selected as winners of a Photographer Badge and VIP parking pass valid September 21-23, 2018 at the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. The badge allows the photographer access to the festival and more importantly the ability to walk onto the launch field with their cameras to capture an up close view of the hot air balloons, crew, pilots, and the thousands of fans in attendance.

The Festival Preview & Photographer Badge Drawing was promoted on Facebook and held on Friday, August 10, 2018 in the parking lot at Central Market located at 320 Coit Road in Plano, Texas.

Congratulations to the following winners of the drawing: Warren Harris, Elizabeth Luse, Shelley D. Franklin, Joe Paul, Dennis Brickett, John Babis, Artist German, Randy Ratzlaff, Alan Daniel, Juan Samuel Barajas, Henry Pereyda, Bob Watkins, Meredith Joyce, John Lightle, Elizabeth Buchanan, Augustin Samson, Lisa Sutherlin, Sandra Young, Millie Hooper, and Kyle Bunch.

Photographers who were present at the time of the drawing received their packages and all other winners will receive their packages by regular mail. For more information please email: social@planoballoonfest.org and thank you to everyone who submitted their photos for the drawing!

SAVE 10% THANKS TO On Your Left! MARKETING & Events 10TH ANNIVERSARY

On Your Left! Marketing & Events is celebrating 10 years of running and offering a 10% discount for 10 days, August 6 thru 16, 2018.

Previously known as DFW Runs, locally owned On Your Left! Marketing & Events is setting the pace in active lifestyle marketing. Since launching their business a decade ago, they have produced 324 events in 133 cities, including the Plano Balloon Festival Races in Plano, Texas.

Use discount code 10YEARSRUNNING and save 10% on the Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, and 1K distances that will take place September 22-23, 2018 at the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival located within Oak Point Park. #PBFRaces #PlanoBalloon www.pbfraces.org

PILOTS SEEK VOLUNTEERS TO CREW HOT AIR BALLOONS

Have you ever wanted to learn more about hot air balloons? We are recruiting folks to help crew for pilots for the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival the weekend of September 21-23, 2018. Volunteers will learn to help with setting up, inflating, launching, and packing up the hot air balloons after a flight during regularly scheduled balloon activities at the festival. There are two flights a day and the morning crew meets at 6:00 a.m. and finishes around 10:00 a.m. The evening crew begins at 4:00 p.m. and finish by 8:00 p.m. Breakfast is provided for the morning shift and dinner is provided after the evening shift.

Hands-on training is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 15 at Oak Point Park in Plano, Texas. In the event of rain, the training session will take place on the following day, September 16 at the same location.

Volunteers must sign-up in advance to crew for a shift and select a time slot. https://www.planoballoonfest.org/p/getinvolved/volunteers

Follow the conversation on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/293047234795238/

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FINISHER MEDAL ENGRAVING AT PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL RACES

Frisco resident Wim Schalken has an impressive collection of more than 50 finisher medals for marathons, half marathons 10k, 5k, and hiking. This dedicated runner also spent years working for a non-profit to organize running events to raise money for charities. In 2016, Schalken hiked the John Muir Trail that included 211 miles and a 47,000 ft. elevation gain within the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The journey included 20 days of hiking.

“I was blown away by the beauty of this pristine wilderness. Because of the impact this experience had on me, I was looking for a unique keepsake to commemorate the accomplishment. You can buy a lousy shirt but instead I wanted a medal.”

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TEAM MARIE CURIE FINISH THE PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL HALF MARATHON

By guest contributor: Iain McCorquodale

#PBFRaces Starting Line - Iain and Alisa McCorquodale — #PBFRaces Starting Line –
Iain and Alisa McCorquodale

My wife and I lost a close friend to a brain tumor in July of this year, and committed to run one half marathon a month over the next 12 months to raise funds for Marie Curie, a UK charity that provides care and support for people living with any terminal illness. More details can be found at www.justgiving.com/12halfmarathons. We are also substituting one of the half marathons for the 2018 London Marathon, the biggest in the world. So far, with the help of friends and business associates, Alisa and I have raised around £5554.50 for the charity, but with 10 more runs to go we are hopeful to raise more. Continue reading “TEAM MARIE CURIE FINISH THE PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL HALF MARATHON”

HOT AIR BALLOON TETHERED RIDES AT INTOUCH CREDIT UNION PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL

Tethered rides at InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival (photo credit: David Downs Photography)

Live life in color and take a tethered ride in a hot air balloon at the 2017 InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival that will be the weekend of September 22-24 at Oak Point Park. A tethered ride is when the hot air balloon lifts up and off the ground, it then hovers 20-30 feet above the field for several minutes, but the balloon won’t launch or fly away into the sky. This is a unique opportunity to experience the sensation of being in a hot air balloon with a licensed pilot. Continue reading “HOT AIR BALLOON TETHERED RIDES AT INTOUCH CREDIT UNION PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL”

MOVING COLORS PRESENTED BY VERIZON & LIMELIGHT PRESENTED BY DIRECT ENERGY SEPTEMBER 22-23

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival announced Moving Colors and Limelight as the main stage entertainment to perform September 22-23, 2017! This annual festival draws more than 100,000 guests to Oak Point Park during the 3-day weekend and this year marks the 38th for the community based non-profit organization. #PlanoBalloon

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RaceJoy Mobile App Includes Live Tracking & Alerts During Plano Balloon Festival Races

Free Live Tracking and Progress Alerts on Race Day

The Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon, Relay, 5K and 1K is sponsoring RaceJoy to provide participants and spectators these features for free (normally a 99 cents upgrade fee for both the participant and spectator). September 23-24, 2017 the PBF Races will be held at Oak Point Park in Plano, Texas the weekend of the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. General registration ends 9/16 and all race courses and run information is detailed on the website: www.pbfraces.org. #PBFRaces

Download the RaceJoy mobile app for live phone tracking at the Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon, Relay, 5K and 1K. The RaceJoy app is available on Apple and Android devices. All participating runners must turn disable WiFi settings on race day or the tracking will disengage.

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CENTRAL MARKET HOSTS FESTIVAL PREVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHER DRAWING

It’s August and the temperature is rising above triple digits here in the Lone Star State. In the “Land of Enhatchment” the heat is cranked up even more in celebration of 22 years as the “hatchiest place on Earth” at Central Market. Last Thursday local pilot Scott Vesely inflated and tethered the InTouch Credit Union hot air balloon in the parking lot at the Central Market location at 320 Coit Road in Plano.

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FESTIVAL RECRUITING 60 VOLUNTEERS FOR HOT AIR BALLOON CREW

2016 Volunteer Crew Training held at Oak Point Park for #PlanoBalloon

Hello, my name is Steve Laswell and I am the Volunteer Crew Coordinator for the 2017 InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. I would like to share with you and your group of some volunteer opportunities for the Plano Balloon Festival. We are recruiting folks to help crew for a Hot Air Balloon Pilot for our Festival on September 22, 23, and 24, 2017.

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