Gloomy, rainy weather didn’t dampen the spirits of hot air balloon pilots in Lewiston Friday morning, or the crowd that assembled to see them, during the kickoff of the 29th Great Falls Balloon Festival.
According to organizers, 14 balloon pilots and an estimated 500-600 onlookers took to the field around 6 a.m. at Simard-Payne Memorial Park. A cold front brought bad weather through the state all day Friday, and produced heavy cloud cover Friday morning, making flight impossible.
Still, the pilots went about inflating their balloons – while keeping them on the ground – to the delight of the attendees.
“They really wanted to show off their product,” said Alan Collins, the festival’s logistics director.
Collins said people had paid for balloon ride tickets in advance, but if they missed out on Friday due to the weather they could get a refund or reschedule for Saturday or Sunday.
Derald Young, 75, was one of the pilots. He explained that a trial balloon to measure the “ceiling,” or how low the clouds were that morning, indicated 600 feet – way too low to launch safely, or legally.
Still, he said, he and his fellow pilots were excited about the rest of the weekend. The festival runs through Sunday, and the forecast for both weekend days is much better.
Young said hot air ballooning piqued his interest just after he got out of the US Navy.
“I saw one at the Blue Hill Fair in 1971 and I said, ‘I want one,’” he said.
Young said he piloted Sabreliner T-39 military transport planes in the Navy. He said he enjoyed transitioning his skills to the balloon.
“It’s more art, with a little bit of science,” he said. “You can control the altitude, but you can’t control the direction at all.”
The balloons carry their cargo of passengers and crew in a wicker basket, with just enough room for as many as five people. Andre Boucher, owner and pilot for A&A Balloon rides, explained the relatively simple mechanism for operating the burner, attached to a frame overhead.
While the fuel is in large, cylindrical tanks with sophisticated systems for managing internal moisture, the fuel itself is propane, not unlike that which fuels most backyard gas grills.
Boucher leaned on the basket’s edge, talking about the tanks with the working-man’s Quebecois lilt he picked up in his youth near Sherbrooke, Quebec. He smiled at a reporter while pointing to a small stepstool between the tanks, saying, “I’m not as tall as you, so I need my booster seat.”
Now living in Chester, New Hampshire, Boucher said he started ballooning in 1986, and bought his first balloon in 1992.
“I just love it,” he said. “So relaxing up there. Different view of everything.”
But you have to pay attention, Boucher said, as the wind does a lot of the driving, so when one lands, it’s not always in the best place. Once, in New Hampshire, he said he had to land in a lake, radioing his crew on the ground where he was coming down.
“They said, ‘There’s no beach here,’ so I said, ‘Make one, cause I’m coming in,’” he recalled.
Not all of the balloons carry people. Matt Conklin, a pilot with Home of the Brave RC Balloon, operated a miniature hot-air balloon on a tether. The burner ran on propane, just like its larger brethren, but the three tanks it used are the same tanks that campers use on portable gas stoves.
“It’s actually pretty easy,” he said, manipulating a remote control to activate the burners.
The mini-balloon also had a cargo basket. When asked its capacity, Conklin said, “up to four teddy bears,” and explained he offered rides to stuffed animals, if asked.
Conklin said he had worked at the annual balloon festival for more than 10 years, usually as a crew member for other balloon pilots. This year, he said, he was getting into the act with his mini-balloon.
Technically, he said, it can go as high as 400 feet, but added, “We haven’t gotten there yet,” and noted that even in good weather the balloon remained tied to the ground.
Another larger balloon that filled up for display Friday morning belonged to the real estate giant ReMax. Bruce Byberg, 65, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., said he pilots this and one other balloon the company operates in New England, just two of its nationwide fleet of 70.
When asked how high the balloon could travel, a crewman quipped, “How high do you wanna go?” and Byberg responded, “Anywhere from treetop to a couple thousand feet.”
Byberg said he hasn’t been to Lewiston for a few years, but when the festival began in 1992, he brought the ReMax balloon for the festival’s first 10 years.
“You get to know different families,” he said. “We’ve been coming here, and we get to watch little babies grow into adults.”
Mark Jolin, 45, of Leeds, was in the crowd with his wife, Denanna Jolin, 45, and the couple’s children.
“I like it, kids love it,” he said.
When asked if he was planning to ride in one of the balloons he said, “I’m not. I’m not that brave.”
Deanna Jolin said the family has attended the festival many times, and “we try to come every year.”
Part of the fun, she said, lies in seeing the balloons floating across the city. One year, she said, the family was in kayaks in the middle of the Androscoggin River, and recalled a special treat.
“They dipped one of the balloons right in front of us,” she said. “They came right down to the water, touched the basket in the water, and took off.”
Angie Roy, 37, is a native of Lewiston, and volunteered as an assistant to the balloon crews for years until she had her two children, Sydney, 7, and Ryley, 5.
“They’ve been coming since they’ve been born,” she said. “We always come Friday mornings because it’s the quietest.”
As Roy talked, both children used miniature digital cameras to take pictures. When asked if she was afraid of heights, Sydney, 7, frowned at one of the balloons and said, “Kind of,” but added she loved watching them from the ground.
Ryley watched all the balloons with fascination, particularly one balloon that was close enough that he could feel a warm breeze from its burner.
“It makes you very hot,” he said.
At 4:30 p.m. Friday, Collins said, the on-the-ground portion of the festival was expected to begin. Booths operated by local nonprofits will offer typical town fair-style food, and there will be carnival rides, live music, and the “Moonglow,” a ground-based light show Friday night.
A parade starts at Simard-Payne Park in Lewiston on Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. Details for other events, including a mobile petting zoo, pancake breakfast and blood drive, are available through the festival's Facebook page.
Parking is available with a $5 donation that benefits local school sports programming. Collins said he expected as many as 100,000 people to attend.
Collins said about 25 organizations, including the Rotary Club and the Shriners will work their booths as fundraisers. Last year, he said, the festival helped the nonprofits raise a total of $85,000.
Mayor Carl Sheline, who was taking pictures of the balloons Friday morning, said the annual festival is always popular, both with local and out-of-town residents.
“This is just a great community event,” he said. “The balloons are larger than life. Who doesn’t love hot air balloons?”