September 1999
bringsballooniststogether
quicker than some light-hearted competi-
tionandan opportunityto promote their
sport. This was the case at the sixth annual
NorthwestConnecticut BalloonFestival
andCraftFair.Twenty-fiveballoonists
showcasedtheirskillsinpursuitofthe
SilasM.BrooksMemorialCup,arace
dedicated to Silas Brooks, Connecticut’s
first balloonist.
Balloonmeister, BillColyer, gothis
wish,astheweatherforthethree-day
event was perfect. Colyer said, “This can
be a roughplace tofly, witha 1300feet
elevation, a wide open northwest and lots
of woods in every direction.” Light winds
allowedflightsFridayeveningandboth
morning and evening, Saturday and Sun-
day.Asusual,theeveningflightsdrew
largecrowdsofpassengersandballoon
enthusiasts, which left the morning flights
availablefor crewandcompetition. The
Hare n’ Houndcompetition onSaturday
morning was marred by a red zone viola-
tionthatleftpilotscheckingtheir maps
closely.
ManyofNewEngland’s,andthe
countries’,topballoonistswereatthe
festival.GerardLefevre,of JewettCity,
Connecticut, was on-hand toflyhisLib-
erty Head shapedballoon.TheLiberty
Head stands105 feet tall and is three and
a half times larger thanthe real Statue of
Liberty’s head.Lefevredesigned and built
theLiberty Head in 1992. Florida’s, Bill
Whidden, tethered and glowedinhisSky
Hi balloonSaturdaynightduringa fire-
worksdisplaybyTelstar.Professional
aeronaut, Mario DiStefano, of Worcester,
Massachusetts.andrecreatio nalpilot
Steve Goodyear,of West Kingston, Rhode
Island, gave rides and answered the ques-
tions of spectators.
So,whowasthispersonthatthe
Brooks (1824-1906), a talented maker of
musical instruments met a man at age 24,
which would change his life forever.
Ph ineu s Taylor (P.T.) Barn um hired
Brooks to design and build an elaborate
musical wind instrument for his traveling
circus. Barnum asked Brooks to travel
of Silas Brooks when it found out he was
buriedinapaupersgraveandallbut
forgotten.Theclubraisedfundstopur-
chaseatombstoneanddedicatedittwo
yearsago.Theyalsosponsorthelight-
heartedmemorial cup competitionin his
name. Coylernoted,“Silas Brooks was no
angel; he liked to have fun. So, we try not
totake the competitiontooseriously and
have a little fun with it. In fact, we have it
up on the floor, bribes toBill are accept-
able.”Flightcoordinator,PatAnderson
added,“TheMemorialCupgoestothe
Best of Show. Notes are takenall week-
end: this balloonist did this, this balloon-
ist didthat, this balloonist did something
else,theyputoutaragbag,orawalk
thro ughb allo on,somebod ytethered,
somebody came back and glowed, some-
bodystuckafivedollarbillinBill’s
pocket.”
Theballoonfestivalisheldatthe
GoshenFairgrounds,Goshen, Connecti-
cut. The flight pathfrom the fairgrounds
takes theballoons over much ofLitchfield,
Connecticut, whichisa “touringtown,”
very upscale, a lot of antique shops, beau-
tiful homes,NewEnglandchurchesand
people like to drive through it and look at
the sites. Unfortunately, many redzones
arestarting todevelop there.Organizers
hope that through education and the good
willbrought-inbydonationsoffestival
proceeds to charities, they can continue to
buildgoodrelationswiththetown’s
people.
SponsorshiphastripledsinceBill
ColyerandradiostationWDRCteamed
uptopromotethefestival. Colyersays,
“I’mb egi nn in gtolik et hi s
Balloonmeisteringthing.” He plans to be
backinGoshennextyeartomakethe
festival better than ever.
Festivaland Craft Fair
the circustohelp play andmaintain
the instrument. Eventually, Brooks opened
hisowncircusandaddedawell-known
balloonist, WilliamPaullin, tohisreper-
toire.InMemphis, afterPaullinbecame
deathly ill, a largecrowd acted unruly and
impatient for the take-off. Brooks did the
only thing he could do; hemadethe ascen-
sion himself.It was a perfect flight.Brooks
said, “No one knew that it wasn’t Paullin
himself. Itgotme intotheballoonbusi-
ness.”
Colyerexplained that the CLAS (Con-
necticutLighterthanAirSociety),be-
