Tag: plano balloon festival

FESTIVAL PREVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHER BADGE DRAWING

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival is going to inflate a hot air balloon in the parking lot at Central Market in Plano on Monday, August 19 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.  We’re going to be giving away free general admission tickets to the festival so come by and see us!

 

If you’re really into food then you might get hypnotized by Hatch during Hatchsteria happening August 7-20! Central Market is featuring over 200 specialty Hatch-infused goodness around every corner within the store.

 

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INTOUCH CREDIT UNION PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL VOTED BEST OF PLANO

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival is honored to be recognized as the Best Event/Festival by the readers of Plano Magazine! After 201,564 votes from online readers the Best of Plano Magazine 2019 winners have been officially announced.

 

The list of nominees for all categories were originally chosen by the Plano Magazine staff and contributors. These nominees were voted on by the public at PlanoMagazine.com to determine the winners with the most votes for each category. Voting was open through May 17 and then closed in preparation for the exciting reveal.

 

This is the third year that the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival has been selected as the Best Event/Festival by readers and previously recognized in 2017 and 2018. Plano Magazine invited the Best of Plano to celebrate recently at The District at Willow Bend!

 

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PILOT STEVE JONES BALLOONING FOR 43 YEARS AROUND THE WORLD

You could say it was love at first flight. Steve Jones’ father attended the US National Balloon Championships in Indianola, Iowa, in 1976, working on a balloon crew and then riding in the balloon. He called Steve on his way home, raving about the experience and trying to convince Steve to partner with him and buy a balloon. Steve was certain that his dad had lost his mind; nevertheless, he consented and soon thereafter he was hooked on the experience. He earned his pilot’s license, a requirement for balloon piloting, and became a member of the ballooning community, enjoying the camaraderie and the competitions.

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BITTEN BY THE BALLOONING BUG

They say time flies when you’re having fun. It certainly must, because it’s been over 30 years since his first flight, and Michael Scott is still having fun. In October 1987, Scott and his family visited the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta while on vacation.

 

 

“We found a balloon that we had seen flying [back home] in Oklahoma City and crewed for them that week. My father got a short flight during that week, and he was bitten by the ballooning bug. We bought our first balloon about six weeks later,” recalls Scott.

 

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AN UNLIKELY PILOT – GUY GAUTHIER

An Unlikely Pilot – Guy Gauthier written by Maridee Dietzel

 

Guy Gauthier was terrified. Being afraid of heights, he realized that taking a ride in a hot air balloon may not have been his best idea. He survived, but as he walked away, Guy declared, “I’ll never buy one of those things!”

 

He and his six brothers would pursue ground-level sports. However, after competing in motorcycle racing for a number of years, the siblings were looking for a new, less messy sport that they could participate in and still be clean enough to be welcome in restaurants or even in their homes. Several more refined pastimes were mentioned, such as hang gliding, sailing, speedboating, and yes, even ballooning.

 

That was on a Sunday evening. On Wednesday, Guy received a call from one of his brothers, telling him, “We just bought a balloon, and your part is $3000.”

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THE HOT BUSINESS OF BALLOON LOVE

“The Hot  Business of Balloon Love” written by Maridee Dietzel 

 

It began with a love story. Tamie Folley and Mike Shrum met at a ballooning event in the Philippines.  They shared a passion for ballooning, and about a year later, they began dating.

 

Fast forward to 2016 when they opened their business, Happily Ever After Balloon Company. Tamie was crewing for a friend in Albuquerque when he mentioned that he had an idea that may interest them. He had noticed the shirts Tamie and Mike’s crew wore when working their pink camouflage balloon; the shirts feature a heart with wings on it. The designer wanted to build a balloon in the shape of a heart, but not just an ordinary heart. This heart has personality!

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TEXAS RUNNER AND TRIATHLETE LISTS PLANO BALLOON RACE IN TOP 5K’S IN TEXAS

The Plano Balloon Festival 5K is ranked as one of the Top 5K’s in Texas by Texas Runner and Triathlete as seen featured in their Winter 2019 issue. Their list includes 34 races within the Lone Star State to receive recognition. If you’re wondering how many there are in Texas each year, then you might want to note that Running In The USA had 1,068 5K races on their calendar for 2018.  Only five of those are in the City of Plano.

 

“This race is worthy of being one of the top five 5K’s in Texas for several reasons and from varying perspectives.  For some participants it is all about the bling and our finisher medals are bright, colorful, big and feature a hot air balloon for each year of the race, so in 2019 we will have nine balloons on them.  For others it is about the festival atmosphere, there is so much to do and experience at the race plus it is very family friendly. For everyone it is about seeing hot air balloons launch above you as you are running/walking the course. These are just some of the things you can’t get at any other 5K in Texas.” – Eric Lindberg, Chief Running Officer of On Your Left! Marketing & Events.

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PILOT JOSH GOLL & “STAR STEPPER”

Pilot Josh Goll and “Star Stepper” are among the 50 hot air balloons and pilots that came to the 2018 InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. Even though they loaded up and made the trip with his family, the Festival was cancelled due to flooding. We’d like to show you his beautiful balloon and share his story.

 

Let’s reflect back to  to 2017 and his first time on the Festival field as a pilot. It is quiet on a Sunday morning. The air is still, and the only sound is the intermittent hiss of a propane burner. The number 16 balloon, Star Stepper, glides southwest over the launch field toward a target spray painted on the grass. The pilot, Josh Goll, gets within feet of the giant red X marking the spot. He tosses a bean bag at the target, and the watching crowd break the silence to cheer his win. Goll expertly piloted his balloon so close to the target at the Festival Fly-In Competition that a spectator might forget the breeze is in control of its direction.

 

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CHARITABLE SPIRITS LIFT UP THE PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL

Throughout the 39 years of producing this annual tradition within North Texas, the Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. has never experienced such a devastating loss.  The Festival is not a large corporate entity, but rather a 501(c)3 non-profit organization led by 13 Board of Directors. The sadness, and significant economic loss, is shared with the 58 local non-profits, 75 vendors, dozens of sponsors, pilots, crew, and more than 5,000 volunteers who were committed to the event.

 

The Festival mission is to produce a family-oriented ballooning event to benefit the community. The objective is to also offer other non-profits an opportunity to assist with the operations of the Festival and raise funds. These agencies work the gates, parking lots, kids fun zone and the races. For their services these non-profits are compensated a portion of the revenue. However, this year they earned no money to apply towards their impactful programs within the community.

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CRAIG RANCH RUNNING CLUB LEADS HALF MARATHON PACE TEAM

The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival & Races include more than 3,000 volunteers that serve in various roles taking tickets, driving shuttles, crewing for pilots, and more.  For the fourth year in a row the Craig Ranch Running Club has stepped up to go the distance in a capacity that includes 13.1 miles. This trained group of runners, led by Captain Rick Johnson, will provide on-site support as the Pace Team for the Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon participants.

 

If you’ve never run a half marathon then you probably don’t understand why other runners would need volunteers to actually run alongside you. However, there are thousands who started with a 1k and eventually find themselves at the starting line of a half marathon. They likely trained with a group and will be prepared for the challenge. But, maybe they have a personal goal in mind.  Continue reading “CRAIG RANCH RUNNING CLUB LEADS HALF MARATHON PACE TEAM”