by John W. Fanning
Bluegrass and Balloons! What a
combination. The folks with the Chamber of Commerce of Sevierville, Tennessee
have used this combination for four years now, and it works for them. On
May 15-16 they held their Fifth Annual Bluegrass and Balloon Festival.
John Elder of the Chamber and the merchants of the Five Oak Shopping Mall bring bluegrass musicians, bluegrass fans, hot air balloons and balloon fans together to be the absolute enjoyment of all. This year the featured performers were the Issacs. But the real stars of the weekend were the balloons, at least to this balloonatic.
Tom Roush of Tallassee, Tennessee (find that on your map) was Balloonmeister. With the help of his wife Pat and a host of other volunteers they put on a balloon rally with eight balloons as professionally as some with eighty balloons. The glow on Friday night was awesome. Tom had the pilots wait until it was really dark before they started the glow. This was super effective. Frequently the impact is lost due to starting the glow before dark. Mike Howard and his wife put their Cameron up alone. This feat was appreciated by the spectators and received cheers and applause from the spectators when their balloon stood up.
Saturday morning called for a Hare and Hound task. Fickle winds caused a change in the launch site. No one wanted to fly into the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The alternate launch site was on the bank of the French Broad River. Needless to say several pilots took the opportunity for a quick splash and dash. Tom Roush flew Roy Smith's balloon as the hare. Extremely light winds kept balloons over the river for some time. Most pilots elected to land soon after reaching dry ground. Some flew on for up to an hour or more. The standings after the morning flight were not available until the evening briefing.
The Saturday evening flight was cancelled after the pilots and crews arrived on the launch field. Some got wet as the rain began to fall before everyone finished packing up. No official flights were scheduled for Sunday. Tom did have a flight scheduled for those who chose to attempt it. He had planned a flight across the Smokey Mountains into North Carolina. This flight was also cancelled due to wind direction. He had several pilots ready to fly had the weather allowed it. That is one flight they will look forward to next year.
The chamber provided $1,000 prize money for the balloon rally. The decision was made to split this evenly among the pilots. This meant that everyone came out a winner. The rally this year was held to eight balloons by the Chamber because they felt they would have trouble locating sponsors. As it turned out they had more possible sponsors than balloons. Next year they will try for 20 balloons.
At the Sunday morning awards ceremony the final standings and bragging rights were announced. First place went to Mike Howard flying his Cameron. Second place went to Wayne Warren flying his Aerostar and third went to William R. Harr flying his new Cameron with only eight hours on it.
This is an ideal area for balloons and the entire family. There are an abundance of first quality motel-hotels, country music theaters, family entertainment theaters, amusement parks, and some of the finest factory outlet shopping in the country. Combine this with a host of fine restaurants and beautiful countryside and balloons and you couldn't ask for more. See you next year.
