Centrally located at the crossroads of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, lies Prado Regional Park in Chino, California. Prado Park was the site of the 2nd Annual Smith’s Balloon Festival held September 29, 30 and October 1, 1995. Last year’s inaugural event was held in Tustin Ranch, which attracted more than 102,000 people. With last year’s success and the new, more accessible site of Prado Park, this year’s event brought record-breaking attendance. The event was well publicized in Smith’s Food Centers throughout Orange and Riverside counties and regular Smith’s shoppers entered drawings to win hot air balloon rides. Orange County’s family magazine, PARENTS & kids, featured a picture of Balloonmeister, Dale Wong, and his family in a Smith’s sponsored hot air balloon on the cover of their October issue.
The three day, family-oriented festival celebrated the magic of hot air balloons with the theme "High Flyin’ Fun." The festival was complete with daily balloon races, night glows, a carnival, continuous stage entertainment, an arts and craft marketplace, fireworks, a classic car show, endless non-stop action on the interactive stage, a chili cook-off and wine and cheese tasting.
The three-day event started on Friday, September 29th when the gates opened at 3:00 p.m. Guests attending the first day were treated to musical entertainment ranging from a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn by Texas Flood, to a surprise concert by America on the mainstage. Balloon ascensions were scheduled for 5:30 p.m., but were cancelled due to gusty winds. Festival goers were disappointed but their excitement was later sparked by an illuminating night glow during the America concert, followed by a spectacular fireworks display themed "A Salute to America."
Just as the sun was setting in the sky, the lucky winners of the Balloon Wedding Contest, Patrick and Ruth Perez, were married during a romantic wedding ceremony on the main field. They recited their vows in an elaborately decorated hot air balloon basket while family, friends, and hundreds of spectators looked on. Their "honeymoon" flight was cancelled due to gusts of wind, but that didn’t stop the happy couple from toasting each other with a glass of champagne and sealing their vows with a big kiss.
Saturday morning dawned clear and calm, perfect conditions for a full ascension of
79 colorful balloons and world class pilots. Many special shapes participated in the
race, including Big Foot, the world’s largest athletic shoe, Ball Park
Sky Frank, the world’s plumpest frankfurter in a bun, Daily Racing
Form, the world’s biggest newspaper, and the 147 foot tall Korbel Brut
Champagne hot air balloon. There seemed to be a large crowd gathered around
the Winchell’s hare balloon before it’s morning ascension, but it turned out to be the
local police looking for their morning donuts and coffee. The hounds took off on the
heels of the hare as it took them over Lake Prado and to a small opening just South of
the Corona Expressway. Cars travelling on the Expressway were treated to quite a
lively sky of multi-colored balloons as the pilots descended over the target zone to drop
their markers.
After the pilots safely landed and their chase vehicles quickly swept them away,
festival goers stayed to enjoy the AAA Classic Car show, carnival rides, and the Krazy
Kouch Snakeboard Competition. The Snakeboard riders performed some "High Flyin’"
stunts of their own during the competition with some fancy tricks and techniques unique
to Snakeboarding. "The Snakeboard is similar to a skateboard," states Sandra Van
Straten, of Snakeboard U.S.A. "Instead of one platform, there are two that pivot and are
connected with a bar between. It’s very similar to snowboarding."
After lunch festival attendees gathered to watch some "low-riding fun" as amateur lawn mowers fired up their equipment to ride in the STA-BIL Western Coast Regional lawn mower races. After the "cutting edge" exhibition, festival goers took a journey back in time as they watched the Medieval Times Jousting Tournament.
As luck would have it, the winds gusted again late Saturday afternoon and the evening’s competition had to be cancelled. A few ambitious pilots thrilled the crowds, as they soared at a rapid pace over the dairy farms, only to be seen later with tales of challenging landings. As the sun set, the winds diminished, allowing numerous pilots to delight the multitude with a night glow before the evening’s musical entertainment.
The crowd’s excitement level peaked Saturday night when the popular Beach Boy’s hit the concert stage performing such favorites as "Help Me Rhonda," "Little Surfer Girl," and "Good Vibrations." A special appearance by songwriter, Brian Wilson, brought the concert goes to their feet as he joined the band for a string of hits. By the time the concert was over at 10 p.m., thousands of satisfied Southern Californians headed home after a full day of "High Flyin’ Fun" and excitement.
The pilots eagerly attended Sunday morning’s briefing to hear Balloonmeister, Dale Wong, inform them of their two tasks. They included a key grab at the end of a lonesome 20 foot pole standing in the middle of Lake Prado and a hare and hound race. Out of the 79 pilots who participated, only two successfully maneuvered close enough to throw their bean bags at the target. Betty Bauwens from Utah was the winner of Sunday’s target competition. Unfortunately, the winds dropped to a stand still, making maneuvering over the lake very difficult. As a result, no one was able to grab the ring for a key to a shiny new Chevrolet Camaro.
The pilots award ceremony and brunch took place at the Smith’s VIP tent around 11:00 a.m. The top six places of the two-day competition were: First place - Pat Fogue (Pepsi Can) with $3,500; second place - Bruce Bussey with $2,000; third place - Tim Brown with $1,500; fourth place tie between Mark Yonker and Dean Ekdahl, both with $1,125; fifth place - Owen Keown with $750; and sixth place - Ron Frusher with $750.
Continental Airlines donated a pair of round trip tickets anywhere they fly in the United States. The winner was Jim Becker, who cleverly wrote his name on a dollar bill, which apparently brought him good luck in the drawing.
Late Sunday afternoon the pilots met and the crowds gathered to see the colorful balloons fill the sky. But once again, the gusty winds spoiled the ascension. Dale Wong announced that the crowd wouldn’t be disappointed though, and 20 pilots thrilled the eager on lookers with a "puff and fluff" on the main field, vying for a share of the $4,550 prize money. After the balloons deflated, the satisfied crowd made their way to the mainstage to enjoy the musical wares of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
The Smith’s Balloon Festival was a big hit as shown by the record-breaking crowd this year. Festival coordinator, John Korff, was very pleased with the attendance and hopes that thousands of Southern Californian’s will continue to enjoy the thrill and excitement of the sport, as the Festival returns year after year.
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