Tag: InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival

INTOUCH CREDIT UNION PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF BALLOONING

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival is celebrating 40 years of ballooning in Plano during the three-day weekend that begins September 20. This annual festival is held in the City of Plano, proudly known as the Official Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas. More than 85,000 guests are expected to attend this 40th birthday party set in Plano’s largest park, the Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve.

 

“This is our birthday year and we are extremely excited about it! The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival brings in pilots from all around the country and offers our community a low-cost, family fun event. The City of Plano does an outstanding job of supporting this event each year.” says Executive Director, Jo Via.

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LAST RUNNER REGISTRATION DISCOUNT & RACE REMINDERS

Race fees go up at midnight on August 31!! Missed the early registration pricing?  Don’t labor over it because we’ve got one final discount deal.  Use code: PBFLABORDAY during the Labor Day holiday valid September 1 through September 3 and receive $5 off all distances.  Click here to sign up.

 

 

We also have two reminders that runners need to know! First, if you would like to order the packet pick up mailing, the deadline to do so is 11:59 PM on Saturday, August 31st. To add it, and manage your registration, simply click the link in your email confirmation that reads Manage My Registration or you can:

 

1. Login at www.runsignup.com
2. Select Profile from the drop down menu in the upper right corner
3. Find your PBF registration and click Manage My Registration
4. From the left side navigation select Add Ons and follow the prompts
5. Bonus, also on the left side navigation you can Transfer Events, meaning you can upgrade or downgrade your distance using this feature
6. Bonus Two, also on the left side navigation you can manage your Give Away, meaning you can switch shirt sizes using this feature
7. Bonus Three, also on the left side navigation you can Transfer To Another Runner, meaning, you can transfer your race entry to someone else (at no charge), using this feature

 

 

Second, there is no race day packet pick up. A friend or family member may pick up for you, we just ask that they have your email confirmation. Here are the all of the upcoming packet pick up dates, times and locations:

 

• Saturday, September 7th, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Rahr & Sons Brewery, 701 Galveston Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76104
• Saturday, September 14th, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Academy Sports + Outdoors, 1101 West Arbook Blvd., Arlington, TX 76015
• Thursday, September 19th, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Academy Sports + Outdoors, 6375 E. Northwest Highway, Dallas, TX 75231
• Friday, September 20th, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Plano Event Center | Spring Glade Room (east side of building), 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, TX 75074
• Saturday, September 21st, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Plano Event Center | Spring Glade Room (east side of building), 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, TX 75074

 

For answers to more FAQ’s visit www.pbfraces.org!

CONTEST WINNERS RECEIVE 2019 PHOTOGRAPHER BADGES

Congratulations to the 20 lucky winners selected to receive a 2019 Photographer Badge and parking pass to the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. The call for entries began August 11 and the drawing was held Monday, August 19 at the Festival Preview in the parking lot of Central Market in Plano.

 

The badge permits unlimited admission throughout the three-day weekend to attend the scheduled activities such as the balloon launch in the mornings and balloon glow in the evenings.  Photographers are also allowed to show their badge and walk onto the field to get shots with their cameras that are so close you can feel the heat of the burners and hear the roar of the crowds.

 

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VOLUNTEER TURNED HOBBYIST KEITH BERRY TO PILOT FOX 4 NEWS BALLOON

By:  Amanda Fazzino

 

Balloon pilot Keith Berry caught a bug for hot air ballooning 29 years ago.  “I flew as volunteer crew at a balloon festival in Missouri in 1990,” Berry recalls. “I was immediately hooked!”

 

That one act of service launched a decades-long commitment to the sport.

 

“It’s one of the most awesome feelings to be free and in control of a 75 foot tall, 50 foot wide bubble of hot air floating through the sky,” Berry says. “It’s like being able to walk on air!”

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PLANO RUNNING CLUB TO DISTRIBUTE RUNNER RACE PACKETS

Have you registered for one of the Plano Balloon Festival Races? If not, you’ll want to sign-up soon before your spot is gone. If you have registered and live in the metroplex, you can pick-up race packets from the Plano Running Club at the Plano Event Center at 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway in Plano. They will be in the Spring Glade room on the east side of the building at these times:

Thursday, Sept 20 – 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Friday, Sept 21 – 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Saturday, Sept 22 – 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

“We try to participate in as many local events as possible,” says Plano Running Club member Shirley Barbaro. “Plano Balloon Festival is the biggest and most well-known event taking place in Plano each year. I cannot think of a better opportunity to serve our community than volunteering in some way.”

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PEANUT BUTTER DONATIONS SPREAD HOPE IN COLLIN COUNTY

The Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. has partnered with the North Texas Food Bank and the City of Plano in the 5th Annual Plano Peanut Butter Drive and will accept donations at the 2018 InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. The festival is September 21-23 at Oak Point Park in Plano and collection boxes will be on-site throughout the weekend.

 

“We invite our attendees to donate a plastic, 16 oz. jar of peanut butter to help us reach this year’s ambitious goal of collecting 50,000 pounds to help feed our hungry neighbors,” says Jo Via, Executive Director of the Plano Balloon Festival, Inc.

 

Food insecurity often goes unseen but affects 16% of the people in Collin County and one of every four children across North Texas. By raising awareness about this need and, more importantly, giving people in the community an opportunity to meet the need, the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival helps to make Plano better for everyone. Peanut butter collected in this drive will be distributed to hungry families in Collin County and the 13 counties served by the NTFB.

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CELEBRATION EVENT CENTER HOSTING PILOTS & CREW

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival began in 1980 in the City of Plano, and new for 2018 is a spacious location to set-up balloon operations headquarters.  More than 50 hot air balloon pilots and hundreds of crew members will be hosted by Celebration Event Center located at the Northwest corner of Custer Road and Park Blvd.

 

“The pilots and balloon crew members will be extremely excited and wowed by the amazing Celebration Event Center and Ballroom.  In the 39 years of Plano Balloon Festival pilot and crew functions, this facility is offering the very best place for their gatherings,” states Jo Via, Executive Director for the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival.

 

The three-day festival weekend is September 21-23 and the majority of the 10,000 square ft facility, including the Large Ballroom, is to be used exclusively by pilots and crew. There are a few regularly scheduled classes that will continue in rooms located within the building such as Zumba, Martial Arts, and Bollywood Dance.

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SAVE 10% THANKS TO On Your Left! MARKETING & Events 10TH ANNIVERSARY

2018-08-09 (2)

On Your Left! Marketing & Events is celebrating 10 years of running and offering a 10% discount for 10 days, August 6 thru 16, 2018.

Previously known as DFW Runs, locally owned On Your Left! Marketing & Events is setting the pace in active lifestyle marketing.  Since launching their business a decade ago, they have produced 324 events in 133 cities, including the Plano Balloon Festival Races in Plano, Texas.
Use discount code 10YEARSRUNNING and save 10% on the Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, and 1K distances that will take place September 22-23, 2018 at the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival located within Oak Point Park. #PBFRaces #PlanoBalloon  www.pbfraces.org

PILOTS SEEK VOLUNTEERS TO CREW HOT AIR BALLOONS

Have you ever wanted to learn more about hot air balloons? We are recruiting folks to help crew for pilots for the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival the weekend of September 21-23, 2018. Volunteers will learn to help with setting up, inflating, launching, and packing up the hot air balloons after a flight during regularly scheduled balloon activities at the festival. There are two flights a day and the morning crew meets at 6:00 a.m. and finishes around 10:00 a.m. The evening crew begins at 4:00 p.m. and finish by 8:00 p.m. Breakfast is provided for the morning shift and dinner is provided after the evening shift.

Hands-on training is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 15 at Oak Point Park in Plano, Texas. In the event of rain, the training session will take place on the following day, September 16 at the same location.

Volunteers must sign-up in advance to crew for a shift and select a time slot.   https://www.planoballoonfest.org/p/getinvolved/volunteers

Follow the conversation on the Facebook event page:  https://www.facebook.com/events/293047234795238/

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TEAM MARIE CURIE FINISH THE PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL HALF MARATHON

By guest contributor:  Iain McCorquodale

#PBFRaces Starting Line - Iain and Alisa McCorquodale
#PBFRaces Starting Line –
Iain and Alisa McCorquodale

My wife and I lost a close friend to a brain tumor in July of this year, and committed to run one half marathon a month over the next 12 months to raise funds for Marie Curie, a UK charity that provides care and support for people living with any terminal illness. More details can be found at www.justgiving.com/12halfmarathons.  We are also substituting one of the half marathons for the 2018 London Marathon, the biggest in the world. So far, with the help of friends and business associates, Alisa and I have raised around £5554.50 for the charity, but with 10 more runs to go we are hopeful to raise more. Continue reading “TEAM MARIE CURIE FINISH THE PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL HALF MARATHON”