August2000
hills and fields of
theeast-centralOhioValleygotabitof
addedcolor inJune, when the 19annual
Coshocton Hot Air Balloon Festival, spon-
soredbyBankOne,broughtballoonists
fromallover OhioandMichigantothe
area.
Twowell-knownparticipantsfrom
Ohio in this year’s race were Bob Zanella
whoinhisfirstflightoftheweekend,
recorded his 3,000 hour of flight time and
Mike Emichwho makes his own experi-
mentalballoonsandcurrentlyholdsna-
tional titlesfor endurance flights.
The weekendheldmanychallenges
forthepilotsbeginningwiththe Friday
evening’ssponsorflight.Strongwinds
delayed the launch for 1 hour 45 minutes.
Withonly15minutesleftinthelaunch
window, the green flag was finally raised,
rewarding the patienceof both the balloon
teams and the spectators, with a spectacu-
larlaunch.Aftertheflight,everyone
returnedtoenjoyahogroastandswap
flight stories.
Saturdaymorningprovidedbeauti-
fulweather for the onepartMJDG task.
Manypilotshandledthechallenge well,
with Jim Birk coming within a foot of the
centerof thetarget and several otherpilots
dropping their markers withinthe legs of
the X on their targets.Saturday evening’s
launchwascancelled due tohigh winds,
butthedisappointmentwassootheda
littlebythesixgenerousballoonpilots
who volunteered for the Night Glow. The
balloons lit up the infield as they twinkled,
waved and put ona full glow to the spec-
tators’ cheers.
Sundaymorningprovidedbeautiful
weatheronceagainforthelaunch,this
timeatwo-parttask.Thesetaskswere
madea little more challenging by uncoop-
erative windsatthe targetsites.Despite
numerousattemptsbytheotherpilots,
onlyonepilot,KazZanella,madeboth
goals.Upon returning, the teams, as well
as the observers, sponsors and staff mem-
berswere treatedtoanaward’sbrunch.
Finaltoptenresultsforthe festival
JimBirk,RobMihaly,WayneWarren,
Chuck Owens, Mike Emich, Alex Jonard,
David May and Fred Muffet.
So why would a pilot want to come to
aninvitationonlyballooncompetition
with no prize money?The overwhelming
response of the pilots is “the people in this
area.”Thissupportivecommunitypro-
vides local balloon sponsorship, balloon-
friendly landowners (there’s only one red
zone on the flight chart), local crew mem-
bers, and lots of enthusiasticsupport. The
festivalalsoprovidesasanctionedrace
with an opportunity to earn points toward
theNation al s.Butmos tofall ,the
Coshocton Hot Air Balloon Festival is all
aboutcamaraderieamongthe pilotsand
their crewsandfamilies.The pilotsare
alsoinvitedbackinthefallforanon-
competitive flightandbarbecue.
TheCoshocton Hot AirBalloon Race,
as it was originally known, began in 1981
afteralocalbusinessmanhiredBo b
ZanellaofBarberton,Ohiotobringhis
balloon to their lumber company’s home
show.Thebusinessman,aswellasthe
community, was smittenby the balloon-
ingbug, andthe rest ishistory.
In 1995 the name was changed to the
CoshoctonHotAirBalloonFestivalto
reflectalltheadditionaleventstaking
place between the early morning and early
evening balloon launches.Photo contests,
rides,concessionstands,craft
and antique markets, Little League base-
ball tournaments, children’s bicycle races
and livemusical entertainment,have been
addedto help the visitorspass the time.
Inbetweenflights,theballoonists
andtheirfamiliesenjoyareaattractions
suchas:HistoricRoscoe Village—a re-
stored canal town, Coshocton Lake Park—
withitsnewAquaticCenter,ahorse-
drawn canal boat ride ontheMonticello
III,RoyceCraftBasketsFactorytour,
ThreeRiversPottery&Factoryoutlet,
andthe fine restaurants of Coshocton.
AlsonearbyareTheLongaberger
CompanyHomestead—ashoppingand
diningcomplexfromtheinternational
basket maker, the architectural wonder of
theLongabergerCorporateHeadquar-
ters—built inthe shape ofa basket, and
the beautiful sceneryof the Amishcoun-
try—also famous for its food and crafts.
Whatbeganwith12balloonists19
years ago isnow a much-anticipatedan-
nualeventwith30invitedguests.Plans
arealreadyunderwayforthe2001
Coshocton Hot Air Balloon Festival, to be
heldJune8-10atthe CoshoctonCounty
Fairgrounds.Ifyouwouldlikemore
information about the Coshocton Hot Air
BalloonFestival,p leasecontact:The
CoshoctonCountyChamberofCom-
merce,124ChestnutStreet, Coshocton,
Ohio43812, 740-622-5411.
