Forty years ago this year, a man landed on the moon…a concert was held on a dairy farm in New York…and hot air balloons lifted off in Indianola for the first time.
This week is the 40th National Balloon Classic in Indianola, Iowa. Hot air balloon pilots from across the world have visited this central Iowa town for the festival. This year there was a pilot from the United Kingdom, along with over 100 other pilots. I was there for the mass ascent on Saturday.
Technically not a hot air balloon, this was the first pilot off the ground. As he was floating away, he was releasing balloons in order to control his altitude.
Soon, the bigger balloons starting rising from the turf.
Some very close together…
The first actual hot air balloon off the ground!
Soon to be followed by more…
It seemed like the pilots and crew were inflating the balloons right on top of one another.
Kid power!
It wasn’t too long before the sky was crowded with balloons.
1040 WHO represented at the Classic. Ronald Reagan was a broadcaster at this station back in his radio days.
The pilot of this balloon came all the way from the United Kingdom to fly over Iowa.
After all the balloons were airborne, the crowd was entertained by The Sonny Humbucker Band. They were pretty good. They opened the show up with Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing.
Finally, after a bit of a delay, the night ended with some fireworks, complete with play by play by my kids:
This was a very cool afternoon in fly-over country, and it was very inexpensive. It goes on all this week.
Next year, if you are looking for something to do in America’s heartland, you should consider the 41st National Balloon Classic.
