July 2000
event,heldMay20-22intheEl
DoradoHillsjusteastofSac-ramento,
Californiaincluded several “firsts.” It was
thefirstannu al“Sacrament oBee’s
Balloonfest 2000atSerrano.” The event
wasfirstorganizedandthensponsors
werefou nd .ItwasSacramen t o
balloonmeisterGary Rominger’s first time
planning an event of this magnitude. (He
had helped put on somesmall local events,
but never anything of this size.) And Sat-
urdayturned out to be Sacramento’s first
100-degree day for the year.
After sending out invites to between
40and50ofthebestpilotsaroundthe
West Coast, Gary had his field of entries.
Othershad tobe turnedaway because of
thesizeofthelaunchsite.Theevent
startedwitha pilot and crew check-inon
Friday night, alongwith a nice BBQ din-
ner on top of a large hill overlooking the
SacramentoValley.TheSerranoCom-
pany had setup tables, tents for vendors,
and a stage for all the activities to be held
throughout the weekend. Theyhadeven
goneso far as to bring in small potted trees
for the eating area.
Friday’spre-eventpilotbriefingin-
formed everyone that the lot would open at
4a.m.andthataspecialroadwouldbe
availableforpilot and chasevehicles.Dawn
patrolwastostartat5a.m.,anddaily
briefing would be held at 5:30, with launch
in two waves at 6 and 7. (This turned out to
bewishfulthinking, however,atleast for
Saturday, because of the wind.) The event
was free to the public, and the only charge
wasforparking.Partofthoseproceeds
would go to the local Big Brothers and Big
Sistersorganizations.
When Saturday morning came,it was
a bit breezyon the topof the hill. Dawn
patrol had to be canceled, and later, when
thesuncameup,sometriedtoinflate
several times, but the wind was just strong
time an estimated 12,000 people had come
tosee theevent.DuringthedelayArky,
alongwith special shapes Jesus andTony
the Tiger, cold-inflated just enough to keep
the kids interested, while most of the adults
relaxedorhadbreakfastandvisitedthe
booths. Fortunately GlenMoyer, whohas
been an announcer at many of theseevents,
was on hand to explain to the crowds theins
and outs of what was (or was not) happen-
ing. Each time one of the balloons tried to
inflate, the enthusiastic crowd would move
toward it in hopes of a liftoff.
Finally,about8:00a.m.thewinds
gave it up for a while, and crews scurried
togettheballoonsoffinagrandmass
ascension.Itlookedlikea huge cueball
had hit others racked on a giant pool table.
The first balloons driftedaway off to the
left,thelateronespickingupa boxand
goingtheoppositewayoverthemany
Balloonfest 2000
homesandtowardFolsom
Lake. Others,including Arky,drifted over
tothenextlargehill,wheredozensof
bulldozersandother constructionequip-
mentwerescattered.Thentheydrifted
right back and almost landed on thelaunch
site.Thecrowdslovedit,thesponsors
loved it and the pilotsseemed to enjoyit
too, as many hops were made. By the time
the flight was over, Serrano and the Sac-
ramentoBee were both happy—so much
sothatthey signeduptodo itagain, and
thiswasjustthe FIRST morning.
Saturdaynightbroughtaglowto
wowandzowthemagain.Sundaywas
pretty much a repeat of Saturday, although
thecrowdwasreducedbyabouthalf.
Other than a lot of traffic anda few frus-
trated golfers worried about missing their
teetimes, the“FIRST“ annual BalloonFest
turnedout to be a “FIRST” rate event.
Balloon fest 2000 held in El Dorado, California.
