Balloon Life,December 2000

34

LOGBOOK

Nearly two weeksbefore the event, rain
had threatened the New Jersey landscape
andhadsaturatedthelaunchfieldat
SolbergAirportinReadington.Atthe
helm of protecting its integrity, was V.P.
ofOperations, Ken Staats who rose victo-
riouslyonceagaintotheoccasion.The
family of flyers and staff at the 18 Annual
QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Bal-
looning,the largest SummerFestivalin
North America had its challenges to meet
butnotwithouta well-thoughtoutplan
that was put intoservice withsuchdedi-
cation and perseverance. Thursday night
we met with festival owners and promot-
ers,HowardFreemanandJohnKorff to
reviewtheagendaforth eweekend’s
events.Thisyear’sfestivalwasfullof
entertainmentandspectacularepisodes
for attend ees to enjoy. From the youngest
enthusiasttothe mostseasonedballoo n
watcher, there was somethingfor every-
one!
Fridaymorningwastobe the mostsuc-

cessfulmediamorningthefestivalhas
ever seen. In the absence of rain, the early
morninglaunchproducedanincredible
sunrise that displayed colorfully animated
specialtyballoonsthatappearedtobe
slow dancingin the paleblueskies. The
cloudsofferedanoccasionalreminder
that they were in fact, gentle giants—an d
the media on board became the lens that
brought the world below into sharp focus.
Fromthemed ia’sbirds-eyeview,they
couldwitnessnativedeerandwildtur-
keysrunningfreelyonthecountryside
below.Thelaunchpro ceededatalei-
surely pace as the win ds were near noth-
ingandthe entire fieldslowly drifted n o
morethanamilefromthelaunchsite.
ThemorningTVn ewss howswere
flooded withpictures of balloo ns as they
serenelyfloated inthe air.
Thisyear’seventyieldedfo ur fantastic
flightsandweatherpermittedgreatop-
portunitiesforthecommunityandvisi-
tors to enjoy every aspect of the Festival.

Hordes of volunteer ground crew helped
support the unpacking, retrieval, and pack
upoftheirlargereplica.Thecooland
veryHOT(pink) Ben&Jerry’sspecial
shape ice cream cone, the strawberry dai-
quiribyBacardiRealFruitMix ers,
Smokey the Bear, Cargolifter and the site
ofaBudLiteonasummer’sday—all
newcorporatesponsorstothefestival
this year. Returning favorites, such as the
Energizer Bunny, UnitedVanLines, the
Pepsi can,Pontiac andGMCseemedto
be larger than life and required more than
the typical number of crew. Crew for the
balloons is organized through the festival
staffheadedbyKarenKonash.Many
localo rganizationsvolunteertheirtime
and talents to make this a successful an d
safe event.
En te rtai nm entwass pe ctac ul aras
America,TheBeachBoys,skydivin g
Elvis’sandfireworks were nightlyfare.
Thefestivalisgearedtowardsafe,fun
familyentertainmentandassuch,has
many attractions duringthe day. Record
crowdswereinattendancewithover
150,000paidgate.For those wantingto
flypassengerrides,allballoonsforall
flightswere full.
Competition was, as in past years, intense
with$15,000prize money u p for grabs.
Allflightsweretomultiplejudgede-
claredgoalsandthepilotsflewwell.
Sincethe flyin garea isrollingcountry-
sidepunctuatedwithlargefieldsand
friendlylandownersandnearlynored
zones, the pilots would drop on target an d
keepflying,coveringmanymiles.Top
finisherswere localpilotsGeorge Blair
and Robb Stasyshyn. Putting in ex cellent
resultswereSteveDavis,RonMartin,
KevinFlanagan, andCarlYoung.Now,

Quick Chek New Jersey
Festival of Ballooning

by Larry Konash

35

Balloon Life,December 2000

ifGarry Haruska could only get that pesky
Bunny to go where HE wants it to go…
Howard and John are to be commended
for their great contribution to our sport.
Each year we are pleased to introduce
over 300 volunteers to the sport of bal-
looning and through their crew efforts
eachlearnsnewskillsandhow tobecome
more involved in our ballooning associa-
tions. Youth and community alike, the
social environment and involvement as
well as the domestic and often interna-
tional relations created proves to be time

well spent. More than eight countries
(including the U.K, New Zealand, and
Africa) were represented this year, as I
recall one evening when the Energizer
Bunnyreceived crew from a localchurch
youth group visiting this country. Their
faces were shining with such pride and
dignity and the friendships made that
night will continue to grow as will our
sport of ballooning each time we have
ambassadors of good will taking part in
these ballooning activities and opportu-
nities.

When we treat those around us with the
samecourtesy and respect,theycome
away with a feeling that will stay with
them,too,throughouttheirlives.Not
taking our landowners for granted, each
landingisanimportant beginninginshar-
ing our sport of ballooning with genera-
tions to come.Luckily, events like the
Quick Chek New Jersey Festival give us
the opportunity to fly in our back-yard
communities and do just that.
For more information on this event
visit www.balloonfestival.com.