Balloon Glow Tour floats back into town | Baldwin Park Living

Once a year, a magical celebration takes place in the fields of Blue Jacket Park.

Scattered chatter and laughter echoed across the grass, barely audible above the playful chimes of bells and whistles echoed by the carnival booths and the local country music station in the background. Baldwin Park residents carried both salty and sweet treats, including cotton candy, freshly popped popcorn and ice cold drinks.

At first glance, the park seemed quite dark at 8 p.m., but the event’s visitors waited patiently for the main spectacle.

Suddenly the park began to sparkle.

The joy lit up participants’ faces as the giant hot air balloons floated in the sky, lighting up in scattered patterns that adorned the park in multicolored lights with a spectacle of shadows.

“The Balloon Glow Tour 2021 was definitely something I will always remember,” says Jasmin Acosta, who attended the event. “We come every year and you just never forget that.”

The Balloon Glow Tour first began in 2019 and has since grown to become the largest producer of hot air balloon events in the United States. The tour covers a variety of popular cities including Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, New York, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and St. Louis.

This event was the fourth consecutive winter event at Baldwin Park. Ricky Garvie, owner, president and event coordinator, says the company is planning a big celebration of its fifth anniversary next year.

“When you see the look on everyone’s face — especially when the balloons first go up — it doesn’t matter if it’s a 5-year-old or a 90-year-old, everyone’s like, ‘Wow, look at that’,” says Garvie.

The idea of ​​a balloon “glow” was initially reconstructed from the idea of ​​creating a concept where there would be constant activity, as opposed to a typical balloon festival where the balloons take off, fly away and be gone in 10 minutes, Garvie says.

Using the concept of a “balloon glow,” balloons are securely tied to the area of ​​the park for participants to watch, ride, and learn about. The event also includes a variety of additional activities such as carnival games, food trucks, music, local vendors and more.

“There’s always balloons rising and lighting up, and there’s always something to see,” says Garvie. “It’s a big deal for us to get out and see friends and families sitting together on blankets watching the balloons and having a lovely night in their community.”

According to Garvie, this year has been extremely stressful with both the coronavirus pandemic and the weather cycle. In recent years, the organization has only canceled a handful of events so far. About 12 events were canceled this year.

The pilots who help run the event and fly the balloons are from across the United States, including Florida, Missouri and Tennessee. Many of the pilots have been in the balloon industry for more than 30 years.

Richard Davenport, a balloon pilot who started in Oklahoma, has been flying balloons since 1985.

“I wouldn’t still be doing this if I didn’t love it,” says Davenport. “And it’s an amazing experience.”

In 1991, Davenport joined REMAX as a pilot. Back then, the company only had one balloon and about 20 performances a year. Though pre-COVID-19 numbers were higher, the company now makes about 150 to 170 appearances a year with two balloons that Davenport manages.

“The balloons are fun for everyone, and many people have never been near a hot air balloon before,” he says. “I’m delighted to see them enjoying this excitement for the first time.”

Davenport says the size of the envelope determines how much a balloon weighs. One of the REMAX balloons that Davenport managed at the event weighed 225 pounds and has a balloon of approximately 76,000 cubic feet.

One of the larger balloons that offered rides to attendees with tickets weighed 350 pounds and spanned about 120,000 cubic feet. The size of the balloon also determines the size of the basket it carries.

Although the REMAX balloon can carry a total of 1,600 pounds, the system weighs around 700 pounds, meaning the balloon can carry up to 900 pounds of people.

Many of the hot air balloons on display had two burners to power them. Davenport says he uses both because they do a lot of pacing at the event; The burners allow him to accelerate the ascent or descent. Two burners also help with safety in high winds or unexpected turbulence.

Every time the pilots fly, they fill up their propane tanks. Davenport had three 15 gallon tanks in the REMAX balloon. He says if he stays up two or three hours, he’ll use up all the fuel.

According to Davenport, safety is one of the most important aspects at the event.

“The weather will always be unpredictable and something that we cannot control,” says Davenport. “As soon as we feel the wind picking up, we need to come down to make sure our safety and the safety of others remains intact. If it wasn’t safe, I wouldn’t do it.”

All balloon managers at the event are pilots licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Pilots follow the same rules and regulations required for other types of aircraft. Both the pilots and the balloons are regularly tested and checked.

Davenport says although some are nervous about flying in a hot air balloon, many recover quickly from the fear.

“Actually, I’m afraid of heights,” says Davenport. “For some reason I feel completely safe and comfortable as soon as I step into this craft.”

Another balloon pilot, Bill Whidden, a native of Kissimmee, was first introduced to balloons through a friend.

“I thought, ‘What’s a grown man doing playing with balloons?'” says Whidden. “Two weeks later, after seeing his balloon, I bought one for myself.”

Cloud 9 balloon manager Ian Foy says he was stationed with the US Air Force in New Mexico when he first saw a balloon event.

“I ran to see the event and knew I had to try it myself,” says Foy. “I loved it and thought, ‘How can this get any better?’ Then I started making the balloons fly, and really nothing compares to that.”

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