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BalloonFest aims to soar today
Allison Phillips
Kyle and Lucas Linhardt listen to "Team Remax" balloonists Liz Lorscheider and David VanSlyke while waiting for the mass ascension Saturday afternoon.
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Published: October 25, 2009
The early showers and cloud cover burned off late Saturday morning and the sun was in full bloom through much of the afternoon.
And the sky was as clear as it could be at the large grassy expanse behind the Statesville Regional Airport for the start of the Carolina BalloonFest. Perhaps too clear.
The flapping of tent hatches and flags was nearly deafening throughout the carnival-like event. And flapping means strong winds, and strong winds are the enemy of hot air balloons.
Even Coordinator Kristie Darling said the pilots who come to the balloon rally have been anxious to go up.
"If there is a way to fly, they are going to fly," she said. "But it's always safety first. They call these things gentle giants because they are so big, but a strong gust of wind can really damage the aircraft."
Darling said when conditions are iffy, ballon pilots live by the adage: "I'd rather be on the ground wishing I was in the air than in the air wishing I was on the ground."
But as the crowds continued to shuffle in throughout the afternoon, Darling said the event would be a success.
Bill Meadows is called the "Grandfather of the BalloonFest." And he has watched it grow from something of an esoteric gathering of balloon enthusiasts to a Statesville institution attended by families from all over the region.
Meadows described how hot-air ballooning was so rare in the 1960s that the Federal Aviation Administration did not even have a certification program in place.
Meadows said that when he took his first flight in a hot air balloon in 1968 from a site near the Signal Hill Mall, there were only about a dozen hot air balloons in operation in the United States. Meadows would eventually receive the very first FAA hot air balloon pilot certification in the southeastern U.S.
Soon after his first flight, Meadows opened a hot air balloon school just north of Statesville, called Balloon Ascensions.
By 1974, he had trained enough pilots that he wanted to have a reunion of sorts and invited his graduates to his Balloon Ascension property.
And what is now the BalloonFest was born.
Don Cline has been there from the start.
In fact Cline, who grew up in Statesville but now lives in Greensboro, is the only hot air balloon pilot to have participated in all 36 events.
"It's changed over the years as the situation has changed," Cline said. "But it's always been great fun for the family. Everyone loves to see these big balloons."
Along with balloons, there were live bands, a half-dozen wine-tasting booths, Greek gyros, blooming onions, turkey legs, butterfly fries and old fashioned soda, to name but a few of the beverages and delectables. There were jumping things, sliding things, bouncing things and throwing things.
Hopefully, when the event resumes today, there also will be some flying things.
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