Despite Weather Issues, Thousands Enjoy Festival
Scott Lytton waited in line for almost two hours to get the chance to ride in a giant, yellow smiley face hot air balloon Saturday afternoon.
“I’m nervous that I’m going to tip over the side,” he said as he stood in line for the tethered rides.
He was one of the thousands of people who came out to the Oak Hill Property of the Virginia Horse Center last Friday and Saturday to enjoy the annual Balloons Over Rockbridge Hot Air Balloon and Music Festival.
The goal of the event is to help raise awareness and funds for local Rockbridge charities while also providing entertainment to the community. This year the funds are going to Rockbridge County 4-H program and the Rockbridge YMCA Early Learning Center.
Robert Foresman, who is on the Balloons Over Rockbridge board of directors, said that there were around 2,500 in attendance on Friday and 7,500 on Saturday with approximately 10,000 total attendees over the weekend.
As is often the case, the weather once again caused some complications with scheduled balloon flights and glows. A storm that rolled through Friday evening cancelled the evening’s flight and balloon glow. Saturday morning’s balloon flight was canceled due to fog that could cause a danger during flights.
Those who scheduled a piloted flight were given the opportunity to reschedule to the next day or carry over their flight to next year’s event. Those who could not reschedule were given a refund.
Hot air balloons are complex and many factors go into making sure they go up safely. Hot air balloons use a combination of heating and cooling of air to fly. Air is heated by propane-fueled burners inside the balloon to make it ascend. The air is then cooled by letting air out of a vent to make the balloon descend and land.
The event is run by volunteers. They take shifts throughout the day and are constantly working to make sure the event is running smoothly. There were an estimated 200 to 250 volunteers this year.
“We are just there to fix any problems or answer any questions,” said Foresman.
Volunteers help with parking, drive shuttles from parking to vendors, make sure trash is empty and answer questions attendees might have.
“I was very surprised it takes such a large team of people to get the balloon up and going,” said Wendy Hall, who was also interviewed while waiting in line for a tethered ride Saturday afternoon.
Besides seeing the balloons, attendees at the festival enjoyed live music and craft and food vendors.
On Friday, Se Diverse and Southpaw performed and The Pickup Band and The Mojo Parker Express played on Saturday.
This year the event featured 21 colorful balloons, and many of them were able to take to the skies on the final night of the festival.
When asked about their favorite part of the event, both Hall and Lytton said seeing the balloons in the air.
