cityofBarrie,Ontarioheldtheir
annualWinterfestonFebruary3and4,
2001. This city, located about 100 km (62
miles) north ofToronto, once again hosted
this family oriented event during some of
thecoldesttemperaturesexperience this
winter.Thetemperaturesdidnotstop
peoplefromvisitingthewinterfestival
thatincludesdogsledrides,sno-cross
races(sn owmob ileracesheldo na
motorcross-typetrack) andofcourse, a
hot air balloonfestival!
Although balloon flights weresched-
uled only for Saturday and Sunday, many
crewsbattledsometreacherousdriving
conditionstogettoBarrieonFriday
evening as a severe winter storm covered
the area leaving about 15 cm (6 inches) of
fresh snow behind.
Muchtoeveryone’sdelight,Satur-
daymorning beganwithclear blue skies
andverylittlewind.ButwasitCOLD!
The overnight temperatures had dropped
tobelow -20 C(-5F) andat7:30 a.m. it
wasnotmuchwarmer. However,itwas
going to take more than cold temperatures
for the hardy Canadian pilots to miss this
great opportunityfor some winter flying.
Theballoonfestivalwasorganized
by Sundance Balloons, a balloon ride and
corporate program company, on behalf of
theCityofBarrie.TomGeorge,a local
residentandpilotofoneof theYellow
Pagesballoonswasthe“Balloonmeis-
ter.” His knowledge of the area and expe-
rienceasapilotmadehimthenatural
choice tofulfill thisrole.
Afterthepilotbriefinginthecom-
fortsofalocalTravelodgeHotel,the
pilots andtheir crews drove tothe shores
of nearby Kempenfelt Bay. As the crews
wound their way around the parking lot to
enterthelaunchsite,eachballoonwas
topped upwith adequate nitrogen neces-
sarydue to the temperature. Before long
allofthe14registeredballoonswere
inflating as the crews scrambled to make
sure they had adequate clothing to protect
werenowblowing.Theywerealsore-
minded by the pilotstobring alongsleds
and toboggans as they become very useful
tools when retrieving balloons from snow
coveredfields!
All of the pilots enjoyed a great win-
terflightbutmostofthemwerealso
lookingforwardtogettingbacktothe
hoteltoget warmedup before the after-
noon flight. At the 1:30 p.m. briefing, Mr.
George indicated that the winds were go-
ing to pick up and that the afternoon flight
would probably be the last for the week-
end as more severe winter was headedto
theBarrieareaovernight.Infact,the
conditionsmightnotevenbefavorable
for the scheduledballoonglow Saturday
evening.
As thepilots and crews prepared their
envelopes on the snowy parking lot, some
pilotswere takingtheir time tosee what
the conditions were actually like. The first
ballooninflatedhaddifficultyassome
slightgustsofwindbecameprevalent.
Withtheassistanceofothercrews,the
envelope stabilized and the pilot was able
tolaunch. Shortlyafter some of the other
pilotsalsobegantheinflationprocess.
directionbroughtthemacross
thefrozenbayandovertheheadsof
numerous people ice fishingand then the
downtown core of Barrie.
While mostof the balloonsdidtake
flight,somedidnotastheinconsistent
gustscausedconcernandtheybeganto
packthe balloons andbaskets away. One
pilot landed his balloon on the far edge of
KempenfeltBayonlytohaveasudden
gustpushthecollapsingenvelopeinto
some treesthat surroundeda park.
The turnoutfor the eveningballoon
glowwaslimitedtoTomGeorgeinhis
Yellow Pages balloon as the forecast was
not favorable. It is also difficult to ask you
volunteercrewtoventureoutinthese
conditions as temperatures dropped again.
Beforelongacrowdgatheredand
were offered rides in the tethered balloon.
One more balloon showed up to join in the
evening’s festivities and the crews did not
packthe equipmentaway until everyone
that wanted a ride had the opportunityto
do so. It is the dedication andenthusiasm
of these balloonists that make ballooning
sucha success, particularly inthe frosty
winterclimatethatprevailshereinthe
Great White North!
