2022 Balloons Over 66 Weekend

Friday night flights a perfect start to the weekend

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[September 02, 2022]   Friday evening the city of Lincoln and the entire countryside of Logan County was filled with the brilliant bursts of color as more than 30 hot air balloons took to the skies for the first official flight of the weekend for the 2022 Balloons Over 66.

The balloonists were divided into four groups and sent to four locations throughout the city. Lift offs took place at Mayfair Park in the Mayfair Subdivision, Dugan Center on the far north end of McLean Street, the city owned lot on Eighth Street that is the former location of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, and the residence of Lincoln Alderman and City Clerk Kevin and Peggy Bateman.





On Eighth Street the crowds were gathering and waiting when the pilots and their crews arrived for the inflation and flight event. Watching the balloons is a true family activity and many children were present with their parents, grandparents, and other loved ones. They came together in groups and spent the evening watching and anxiously waiting for the first balloon to take to the skies.
 


When those first balloons made it into the air, the crowd rewarded them with loud applause and cheers. Kids especially were super excited when the pilots looked down from the skies and gave them a wave as they quickly flew away from the location.



And some, were simply in awe of what they were seeing and sat spellbound watching the giant globes fly away.

There were 10 balloons set to lift off at Eighth Street, but a few chose not to fly on Friday night. From a spectator viewpoint, it appeared that the wind speeds might have been greater at the higher altitudes as those balloons that launched were in the air and gone in a flash. Other balloonists waited for the upper winds to get a little slower and drifted more slowly away from the launch site.





Before, during and after the launch on Eight Street, the Lincoln Memorial Hospital Fitness Park, which is located on the corner of that city owned lot, was a popular distraction for young visitors. Kids enjoyed trying out the various aspects of the exercise park throughout the evening.

At Dugan Center on Friday evening, the excitement filled the air as did the balloons that were scheduled to take off from that large grassy area.

Again, the site brought in many visitors there to see for the first time this year, the process of inflating and launching a hot air balloon.





As the balloons were preparing to launch, the Dugan site would be the one where Logan County Tourism Bureau Director Alice Roate would be. She shared beforehand that she was going up with her pilot. It would be a first time experience for her and she was looking forward to it very much. Roate and friend Jake McCray took to the skies with pilot Rob Mezey in his balloon named Beau Soleil.

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As the balloons were being laid out for inflation, some were distracted by what was happening out on the street. A large red tour bus was making its way through the narrow opening left by the many cars parked on both sides of the road. Soon a group came bustling over to the grassy airy, excited about being there, they set up their lawn chairs and settled in to the evening of watching balloons take to the skies. The group said they were there for the evening. They were a church group from Washington, Illinois, most of whom had never been to the balloon weekend in Lincoln. A couple of people had come in the past, and it was on their urging that the entire group decided to make the trip to Lincoln for a pleasant Friday night.

Later in the evening, when the balloons had all launched, the group loaded up and made its way downtown in the big red bus. There, they enjoyed a night of visiting food vendors, taking in the sights and enjoying a great band.

Again, the Dugan Center location was a great place for young and old alike. The green space around the launch site was abuzz with families gathered in small groups with kids playing on the lawn as they awaited the first launch.

Lawn chairs were set, blankets were laid and it felt like a lazy summer evening where people could visit while they sat relaxing and children could run free without too many restraints, expelling their energy and getting them ready to settle and enjoy what was yet to come.

When the balloons began to take flight, visitors clapped and cheered and did what they could to express their awe and appreciation for the show they were watching.

Like the event on Eighth Street, not all the balloons scheduled for the Dugan Center lift off event actually made it into the air. But, there was interest even in those who did not fly.







Guests had the experience of seeing what happens during deflation of a balloon. Fire and Ice with pilot Andrew Robinson did inflate but did not lift off. Instead, guests had the pleasure of seeing what it looks like when all the air goes out of a hot air balloon. While inflation is exhilarating to watch, deflation is much more graceful than one would expect.

As the air leaves the balloon the collapse carries its own unique beauty. The balloon, which the pilots refer to as the envelope, gently falls off to one side, the cloth taking on interesting angles and folds. While inflation is loud with fans and fire, deflation is quiet and graceful in its own special way.

Many guests watched with a new kind of appreciation and respect for the work that goes into being a member of the pilot’s crew. The crew members knew exactly what to do to assist the balloon in its descent and deflation. Then it was time to lay it back out, bunch it up and put it back in its bag.

While all the other balloons were gone, taken by the wind to locations unknown, many of the visitors stayed at the lot to witness the fall of Fire and Ice.

Then it was on to enjoy the rest of the evening with lots yet to do in the downtown area of Lincoln on the first night of Balloons Over 66 weekend.


[Nila Smith / Karen Hargis]

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