RHINEBECK A LOT OF HOT AIR
Dutchess County Fairgrounds get thousands up at dawn for balloon launch
RHINEBECK, N.Y. >> Balloons went skyward and so did spectator’s spirits at the crack of dawn Saturday as the anticipation of a dozen hot-air balloons floating over the Dutchess County Fairgrounds lifted people out of their slumber into something akin to a group smile.
The 28th Annual Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival enjoyed near perfect conditions and lived up to expectations for enthusiasts whose feet may have been on the ground but whose spirits were moved toward the heavens.
“It’s not something you see everyday,” Newburgh resident Chris Dare said. “It’s a beautiful thing to witness. It’s elegant. It’s not like an aircraft, they are much more majestic than that.”
Shantelle Lord, also of Newburgh, admitted having a fascination with the balloon as
almost living art.
“I’ve just always loved how pretty they are,” she said. “It’s probably the only (manmade object) in the air that’s appealing. Planes, they leave those trails behind them, that’s not good for the environment.”
Saugerties resident Margaret Benson was with her four-year-old grandson Tyler Benson, who could barely be contained as the
balloon operators began the inflation process. Just like the adults and other children, Tyler’s eyes grew wider in direct proportion to the size of the balloons becoming larger and larger until they stood nearly 75 feet tall.
“Usually it is tough getting him up early but not for this,” she said. “He just jumped right out of bed.”
Poughkeepsie resident Flavio Ambrosini also acknowledged having an adrenaline rush that got him up in advance of the 4 a.m. alarm set on his clock.
“I used to fly (airplanes) and have a pilot’s license but never went up in a balloon until a few years ago,” he said. “My brotherin-law won a raffle and I got to go up, and it was very surreal. It was very, very peaceful and at a certain point you don’t realize you’re up, you’re just looking at the landscape.”
Some adults acknowledged that the balloons brought out their inner child in an almost mischievous way.
“It looks like a giant bouncy house,” said Beacon resident Megan Kapp.
“You just want to run into the side of it and bounce or something.”
The festival will continue Sunday with free early bird admission from 5-9 a.m., a group launch at 6 a.m. weather permitting, a fundraising breakfast to benefit Sparrows Nest of the Hudson Valley from 5:30-8:30 a.m., and tethered balloon rides on the grounds. Gates will close at 9 a.m. and reopen at noon, with live music, vendors, helicopter and tethered balloon rides, and a group balloon launch at 6 p.m.