Hot air balloons are coming to the Treasure Coast; here's how you can ride in the sky
Hot air balloons are coming to the Treasure Coast.
The Vero Beach Balloon Festival is scheduled for Feb. 5-6 at the Indian River County Fairgrounds & Expo Center. Gates will open at 3 p.m. both days.
Between eight and 10 hot air balloons will float above the fairgrounds at the new event, said Hot Air Balloon Management Director Jeremy Kwaterski.
The festival will feature tethered hot air balloon rides available for $25 per person, depending on the weather, as well as a grand finale after 8 p.m. with a hot air balloon glow and laser show that incorporates music, crowd participation and coordinated burns.
There will be a children’s zone with games, rides, trains, bounce houses, rock walls and a zip line; a DJ and live music; craft and retail vendor booths; and festival-style food vendors.
General admission is $20 for adults, $8 for kids and free for ages 4 and younger. Parking is $5. The children’s zone requires tickets ranging from $1 to $10.
Balloon inflation starts as soon as wind speeds are low enough to be safe. Listen for announcements during the event. Rain would stop balloon inflation because the fabric absorbs water. If that happens, tickets would be good for another day or show.
Bring blankets, chairs and umbrellas. No coolers or alcohol are allowed. Pets aren’t recommended because the burner noise from the hot air balloons can get loud and disturb dogs. Service dogs are permitted.
Kwaterski’s company has been doing hot air balloon festivals since 2008, mostly in the northwest part of Georgia. It was created to raise money for charity, but it grew to be both for profit and for charity. It donates 10% of its earnings to the Special Olympics.
This year, his company will travel to over 15 different venues, including ones in St. Augustine; Aiken, South Carolina; Peotone, Illinois; and Dalton, Lawrenceville and Statesboro, all in Georgia.
History of hot air balloons
The first hot air balloon, “Aerostat Reveillon,” was launched by scientist Pilatre De Rozier on Sept. 19, 1783, with three passengers: a sheep, a duck and a rooster, according to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The balloon stayed in the air for 15 minutes before it crashed on the ground.
About two months later, the first manned attempt was made by two French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, on Nov. 21, 1783, according to the local festival's website. They launched the balloon from the center of Paris and flew for 20 minutes.
In 1785, French balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard and American copilot John Jefferies became the first to fly across the English Channel. Blanchard then became the first to fly a hot air balloon in North America on Jan. 7, 1793, the website says.
Hot air ballooning lost its popularity for about 150 years because of the advancement of lighter-than-air gas ballooning and the perceived danger of burning.
In the late 1950s, Ed Yost’s invention of relatively light burners fueled by bottled propane made it possible for balloonists to reheat the air inside balloons for longer flights, improving modern hot air balloons into semi-maneuverable aircraft.
Yost took the first modern hot air balloon flight on Oct. 22, 1960, in Bruning, Nebraska, flying for one hour and 35 minutes.
Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon instead of a helium/gas-filled balloon in 1987. They flew 2,900 miles in a record-breaking time of 33 hours. A year later, Lindstrand set the record for highest solo flight in a hot air balloon: 65,000 feet.
Branson and Lindstrand teamed up again in 1991 and became the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon. They traveled 6,700 miles from Japan to Canada in 47 hours, traveling at speeds of up to 245 miles per hour and breaking the world distance record.
Vero Beach Balloon Festival
When: Feb. 5-6; gates open at 3 p.m. both days
Where: Indian River County Fairgrounds & Expo Center, 7955 58th Ave., Vero Beach
Cost: Admission is $20 for adults, $8 for kids, free for ages 4 and younger; parking is $5; balloon rides are $25 per person
Website: balloonshows.com
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Facebook @TCPalmLaurie. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Hot air balloons: Vero Beach Balloon Festival offers tethered rides
