Humped-back camels may have been racing
down the streets of Virginia City, but the spectacular sights were in the
skies above Truckee Meadows in Reno as 148 hot air balloons took flight
during the 15th Annual Grrrr-reat
Reno Balloon Race. by Nita Bateman
Humped-back camels may have been racing
down the streets of Virginia City, but the spectacular sights were in the
skies above Truckee Meadows in Reno as 148 hot air balloons took flight
during the 15th Annual Grrrr-reat
Reno Balloon Race.
Growing from its first enrollment of 22 hot air balloons when it began in 1982, this year, the number of balloons was capped at 150 simply because Rancho San Rafael Park couldn ' t hold any more! Pilots now wait two years to get an invitation to the big three-day event, held each year following the Labor Day long weekend. The race is one of those things that has been blessed from the very beginning. It was totally supported by the community when it began in 1982, and remains that way today thanks to resources from local businesses and major sponsors like AT&T Wireless, Early Times Whisky, Korbel Champagne, Norwest Bank, Senior Dimensions, Sierra Pacific Power Co., Reno Air and the elegant Eldorado and Silver Legacy hotels/casinos.
This year ' s event began on Friday, September 6th, with a 6:45 a.m. mass ascension of 125 brilliant hot air balloons launching from Rancho San Rafael Park. The Hare & Hound races each morning were filled with not only color, but special shapes and lots of action as two Norwest Bank sponsored balloons acted as the hares. Instead of the traditional one hare, because of the number of pilots participating, Reno became a two-hare town this year. Blazing a path for the hounds to follow, was the Norwest blue, green and white traditional-shaped balloon and " Miss Penny, " a special bright pink piggy-bank balloon transcending her animated shape for the role.
Adding to the animated September skies were the special-shaped balloons of Korbel Champagne, Early Times Kentucky Whisky, Burger King, Rayovac Battery, Energizer Bunny, Smokey the Bear, United Van Lines, a Panda and the giant TBS birthday cake. Celebrating its 20th year of broadcasting, TBS was proud to be the festival ' s Superstation bringing fun, food and prizes to the thousands of satisfied fans who attended the Great Reno Balloon Races. The seven-story, 750 pound TBS Big Birthday Cake Balloon, with 20 red candles on top, was created by Aerostar International Inc., and is operated by The Balloon Inc.
Reflecting its friendly image over Evans Pond at the east end of the field, was " Oggy " the Sea Serpent, a special-shaped balloon supported by the May Foundation. The specific function of this 138-foot tall goodwill serpent was to give local children ' s groups tethered rides and a chance to experience the joy of ballooning. This year the Children ' s Cabinet benefited from the generosity of the foundation.
Once the Hare & Hound balloons left the field each morning, 19 expert pilots, who selected their individual launch sites outside Rancho San Rafael Park, navigated their balloons towards the large white " X " located in the park ' s center field. As the Community Launch pilots skillfully maneuvered their balloons to the pasture land, the crowd cheered and whistled as they came within range of the target. After the pilots threw their bean bags, they had a chance to grab a set of keys from a flag pole, winning a set of tickets from Reno Air. Pat Kimmerling from Gardnerville, Nevada clutched the keys on Saturday and will be flying anywhere Reno Air services on the West Coast.
On Saturday and Sunday, September 7 and 8, five Dawn Patrol pilots greeted the sunrise at 5:30 a.m. with a brilliant array of colors piercing the indigo-blue sky. Choreographed to music, the special glowing balloons lifted gently into the early morning sky with tranquil grace. Sleepy-eyed onlookers who arrived in time for the " Yaaaaawn Patrol " were rewarded with a truly awe-inspiring site of this spectacular pre-dawn extravaganza. The Dawn Patrol pilots who brought their unique magic to thousands of amazed observers were Steve Turner in " Aurora Borealis, " Jeanne Anson in " Cosmic Stairway, " Ken O ' Connor in " Morning ' s Glow, " Dana Thornton in " Free Spirit " and Larry Houska in " Celebration. "
The 3-day event wrapped up Sunday with picture-perfect weather and a total audience of 125,000 - the best ever. The Biggest Little Town in the World indisputably earned its name with international tourists at the races from as far away as the Soviet Union, Germany, Canada, and France. Many visitors from across the U.S. promised they would return for next year ' s event, saying it was the best vacation they had ever had!
Sunday afternoon also included the pilot awards banquet held on the grassy lawn next to the San Rafael Park clubhouse. Keeping everyone in suspense before revealing the winners, Balloonmeister Jim Ahrens told the pilots, " When the scores come up, I think you ' re going to see that the fellow with the small balloon doesn ' t really have an advantage any more! "
Proving Jim ' s statement by flying a cumbersome United Van Lines truck balloon, Steve Wilkinson of Palm Springs, California captured first place overall in the Hare & Hound race. Steve ' s bean bag toss on Sunday landed dead center on the target, earning him a full 100 points for the day. " I ' d like to thank my sponsor, United Van Lines, but I would really like to thank all my sponsors over the 14 years that I ' ve been here. They ' ve hung in there and stuck with me (I ' m kind of a problem sometimes), but they ' ve backed me up and I ' m really happy to be here. This is the first time that a special shape has ever won first place in this event and with all the expert special-shaped pilots that entered this year, the competition was very tough. I love it in Reno and hope the competition goes on here forever! "
Missing first place by only one point, Bill Dobbs, sponsored by Peppermill took second. A good sport, Bill commented, " If I was to lose to anyone, it should be to Steve Wilkinson. Steve and I have been competing here at the Reno races for fourteen years, and he is number one in the nation. "
Rounding out the Hare & Hound competition, John Petrehn sponsored by AT&T took third place, fourth went to Bob Linde sponsored by Allied Washoe and fifth place was won by Erwin Oertli, sponsored by Piscevich & Fenner.
Winning first place overall for the Community Launch category was Ron Rosepink, sponsored by Fun & Gaming. Ron commented that he liked the reception he found at the balloon races in Reno and that while he was driving around town, looking for a good launch site, people where shouting out " Launch here, launch here! "
Taking second place in the Community Launch was Doug Campbell, sponsored by CJ Bookkeeping, third place went to Greg Taggart, sponsored by UNR, fourth was won by Dale Wong, sponsored by Harry and Linda Stetzell and taking fifth place was Pat Kimmerling, sponsored by Bennett/Dolder.
Ever year the committee gives out a Good Sportsmanship Award and they had a number of people to choose from this year. This is usually someone who has done something out of the ordinary, or may have taken a lump and bounced back for more. They had a situation this year where a pilot was in contention for the BIG prize and he had a minor infraction and received a minor penalty. However, it turned out to be a rather decent penalty because it put him just out of the top of the money. If he hadn ' t been penalized, he would have placed first place overall in the Hare & Hound competition, instead of fourth. But he read the score and read the rules. He never came back and argued and never came back and put up a fuss. That ' s what you call a " Good Sportsman. " This very gracious pilot was Bob Linde from Point Arena, California. Accepting the award, Bob told the other pilots that he couldn ' t have done it without them and thanked each and every one for being such good sports themselves.
It seemed like Northern Nevada was the place to be during the month of September with exciting events happening everywhere. During the same weekend of the Great Reno Balloon Race, camels and ostriches took to the track in Virginia City for their 37th Annual International Camel Races. The fun, laughter and excitement included a Camel Parade down main street, carnival rides and musical entertainment. The 33rd Annual National Championship Air Races returned to Reno at Stead Airport September 12-15. The breath-taking competition featured ace pilots performing spectacular stunts and racing at high speeds in magnificent machines above the beautiful Northern Nevada desert. Some of the hottest stage performers could also be found at local hot els like the Silver Legacy, Eld orado, John Ascuaga ' s Nugget, Harrah ' s Reno and the Reno Hilton. When planning your visit to the 16th Annual Great Reno Balloon Race, don ' t forget to include some of these entertaining events on your itinerary.
