By Susie Reese

My family used to drive down to Florida every other year, and on the way home, it never failed—we’d see magnificent balloons in flight over the New Jersey Turnpike in July. (Yes, New Jersey is more than its 108 toxic waste sites.) My sister and I would press our faces against the windows, trying to see more of hot-air or special-shaped balloons that seemed to hover just over my mom’s aqua Grand Am.

Even as young children, we recognized the magnificent beauty in ballooning: the mysterious and awe-inspiring lure that manifests in yearly gatherings of special-shaped ripstop nylon or Dacron orbs. And every year, millions of guests flock to Albuquerque, Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Canberra, and even Readington, New Jersey, to witness the grand spectacle of a mass ascension, with as many as 550 balloons taking flight in a 30-minute period.

So what makes these festivals so fascinating?

 

We HEART balloons

The most popular attractions at balloon festivals are, as expected, the balloons, and many guests make reservations weeks in advance for a flight.

The special-shaped balloons are some of the most impressive displays. They are the mascots of the festivals, rising into the light blue heavens with powerful flames and a captivating mystique. And their shapes are nothing less than extraordinary.

Take the QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank. According to Howard Freeman, executive producer, the festival brings more than 125 balloons to the state, including shapes of well-known pop-culture icons.

“We had an Elvis balloon a couple years ago,” explains Freeman, “We had an Energizer bunny that was over a 150 feet tall. We’ve had a butterfly that had so many colors that it was awesome.”

However, Freeman’s favorite balloon is one that doesn’t hover above the fields of New Jersey. It dominates the sky-scape: Darth Vader.

Notes Freeman, “When we inflate Darth, we play ‘The Imperial March.’”

This year, Darth will be joined at the festival by a large Yoda balloon, and the theme will be “may the flight be with you” to tie in with the new Star Wars movie being released in December.

If Darth Vader doesn’t send shivers down your spine, then perhaps one of a haunted house will. This balloon is a favorite at the International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, the largest gathering of hot-air balloons in Canada. The Canadian festivals brings nearly 125 hot air balloons with 15 special-shaped hot air balloons to the province of Quebec, including animal shapes, like a whale, owl, and a frog.

But one of the world’s most interesting balloons appears at the Canberra Balloon Spectacular in Canberra, Australia. Flight Director John Wallington calls Skywhale the most unique balloon he’s seen at the festival. Created as an artistic expression for the Centenary of Canberra, “it was not to everyone’s taste,” admits Wallington, “but it certainly created a lot of controversy and comment.”

The Skywhale balloon was commissioned in honor of Canberra’s 2013 centenary celebration and though some Canberra citizens were angered that the city itself does not own the balloon (Global Ballooning of Melbourne actually owns the receipt), the balloon’s design has received much discussion as a multi-breasted whale. (You really can’t make this up).

The biggest gathering of hot air balloons in the world, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, gathers more than a 100 special-shaped balloons a year, boasting an impressive mix of different tastes and designs. Tom Garrity, director of media relations for the fiesta, offers his favorite balloon as Snow White but assures there’s a balloon for just about every fiesta guest, including frogs, motor vehicles, and pirates.

Emphasizes Garrity, “There’s even a cow, which is one of the crowd’s favorites. It’s sponsored by Creamland, and it’s huge.”

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Balloons + Music = Festival

Even though balloons are the biggest part of a balloon festival, most shows also include a music component. According to Poirer, the International Balloon Festival has a team working year round to curate an “avant-garde” listing of young and uprising international acts.

“Back in 1998, the Backstreet Boys did their very first show in Canadian territory at our festival,” says Poirer. “In 2006, we presented a young, promising artist named Rhianna, and in 2011, it was Ke$ha and LMFAO.”

The New Jersey festival specializes in “they did that” bands. “When you go to the concert, you want to hear songs that bring you back to when you first heard that artist,” explains Freeman. “Last year, when we welcomed America (the band), they played ‘A Horse with No Name’ and ‘Ventura Highway.’”

Along with vintage music, the festival likes to welcome a huge Disney act each year. “So kids can experience their first concert in a safe environment.”

In this past, this has included Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers, and R5.

On Saturday night, the New Jersey festival also includes a night glow, where the balloons surround the stage and concert area, and as the concert begins, the balloons glow from inside like paper lanterns. This is one of the festival’s biggest draws and showcases the magic of ballooning, according to Freeman.

“It’s gotten to the point now when I go to a concert at a different venue, I think, ‘Where are the balloons? All you have here is music. What’s up with that?’

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta holds a musical fiesta on the last Saturday of the festival, which kicks off at noon. Last year’s event included such acts as Country Road 5, Sawyer Brown, and headliner Josh Turner. This event does cost extra, and tickets go on sale in the middle of July.

Local bands usually play at the Canberra spectacular, but unfortunately, that was not an option this year. “There will of course still be good music,” assures Wallington, “and we hope for a return of the bands for our 30^th anniversary in 2016.”

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Special effects at the festivals

No matter if the event draws 800,000 guest visits (like Albuquerque) or 30,000 visitors (like Canberra), each festival offers a unique experience you won’t find anywhere on the planet.

“Every year since 2009, the International Balloon Festival has presented the world’s largest inflatable theme park!” exclaims Poirier. “You won’t find it in any other balloon festival.”

The International Balloon Festival also hosts 1.5 million square feet of activities for children and more than 200 shows on various stages every night for nine days.

Location is the most significant part of the Canberra experience. “The launch field is the lawns just in front of the national Parliament House,” points out Wallington. “That is the equivalent of flying from the Capital Building in Washington, D.C., and all flights are over the beautifully planned city of Canberra. This setting, combined with the very relaxed and safe fun nature of the event, make [our spectacular] unique.”

For Albuquerque’s balloon fiesta, uniqueness starts with the name: it’s a festival of ballooning, but “the southwest is known for its Hispanic culture,” says Garrity, “and fiestas are festivals or celebrations.”

And Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is certainly a celebration of ballooning, with 550 hot air balloons and 22 countries represented. As “the world’s premier balloon event,” it also has a phenomenon called the “Albuquerque Box,” which allows balloons to take off and land from the same position, something not common at the festivals.

“Albuquerque has a typically southern flow of wind up to about 500 feet, and then once you get above 500 feet, the winds start to head back north,” explains Garrity. “You can enjoy a breakfast burrito, some hot coffee, and just watch the balloons.”

Balloon Fiesta Park is also the starting point for America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race, where gas balloons launch from the park and go for distance. Some of the balloons have traveled as far as the Atlantic Ocean or up into Canada.

“These pilots will typically fly hundreds, if not thousands of miles on one tank,” notes Garrity.

After the gas balloon launch, the fiesta encourages fans to watch the race at its website, which has a live-tracking map to show the status of the race at any given moment.

 

Gifts from the festivals

The magic of ballooning isn’t limited to the airtime. Some of the festivals present a strong social responsibility to the towns in which they fly.

The Canberra Balloon Spectacular offers free admission to the public, making it accessible to all Canberra citizens and guests.

The International Balloon Festival is committed to eco and community responsibility. Poirier explains, “A big majority of our business partners are localized within 30 miles of the festival. We recycle and insist our festival—goers do the same. We give back unconsumed food to charitable organizations. We promote and put in place very accommodating public transportation facilities for our crowd.”

The New Jersey festivals hold similar community-minded goals. “If we can do well by doing good, what could be better?” asks Freeman.

Since Freeman and his business associate, John Kroff, acquired the New Jersey festival in 1992, they’ve raised more than $2.3 million for non-profit organizations, including the Children’s Miracle Network and local fire and rescue departments. However, the festival is a community project, so local leaders also pitch into the effort.

Notes Freeman, “The Somerset Medical Center has some of their volunteer staff as ushers at our concerts, so if we can help these nonprofit and service organizations help themselves and raise money for key causes while we’re helping the festival, why wouldn’t we do that?”

 

Take flight!

Though the Canberra Balloon Spectacular takes place March 7-15, 2015, you can still catch great festivals in America and Canada throughout 2015. Darth Vader and Yoda will battle it out for supremacy of the sky at The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank from July 24-26, and head up north to see Puddles, the penguin balloon, and Pea-nut, a large elephant balloon, at the International Balloon Festival from Aug. 8 to16. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta ends the season, held from Oct. 3-11, 2015.

 

About Susie Reese

Susie Reese is a copywriter for FC USA Artworks. She loves to travel (you know it!) and has ventured extensively across North America. She enjoys short walks on the beach and comic cons. She writes On the Go: A Magazine for Travelers and on her free-time, comics and short stories.