Basic HTML Version
page 16 Monday, August 27, 2012
2012 Art and Balloon Festival
The quiet thrill of the fly-in
This weekend, thousands of folks will turn out for the
wide variety of events that will take place during the
Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival.
Among the most popular of these are the Friday and
Saturday night balloon launches and glows at the Logan
County Airport.
During that time the airport is a bustle of activity
with live entertainment going on at the main stage,
kite flying, dozens of food vendors selling their
wares, the VIP and beer tents both open, and much
more.
As the evening grows dark, literally thousands of
folks flock to the edge of the grass runway and take in
the extreme beauty of the balloon glow.
Watching the light dance through brilliant-
colored orbs like giant Chinese lanterns is awesome
-- something no one who has seen it can even begin to
deny.
However, there is another almost equally
awesome activity that takes place in the very early
hours of the day on Saturday -- something that if you
have never been there, it might be worth the effort to
come out and experience for yourself.
The early morning fly-in of the balloons at the
Logan County Airport on Saturday is an entirely
different experience than the activity of Friday and
Saturday nights, and in a few short words, the best
way to describe it is “simply beautiful.”
A great deal of the “beauty” of the morning
happens before the balloons even arrive. As folks
venture out of their homes and drive to the airport, it’s
just a bit after 6 a.m.
Many park their vehicles close to the flag barriers
that mark the balloon-only spaces at the airport. They
emerge from their cars with large mugs of hot coffee
and a bag of early morning snacks.
They set their lawn chairs in strategic places
and then they wait, quietly. The sun is peeking over
the horizon and rising over the fields to the east.
Sometimes there is a hint of a fog, a crisp coolness in
the air and the glistening of dew on the grass. In all, it
is a moment of simply enjoying what Mother Nature
provides.
Down the row of parked vehicles, a young family
emerges from a van. Kids sip on their juice boxes and
play in the green space of the grass runway.
Then come the questions, typical kid questions:
“When are they coming, Dad? Why aren’t they here
yet, Mom?’
Patient parents tell them they have to wait a
bit, and they watch the horizon all the way around
because they don’t know which direction the balloons
will come in from.
Down the way, an old-time meteorologist sticks
his finger in his mouth, then raises it into the air. With
scientific certainty he reports that the balloons will
come in from the southwest this year. All eyes turn to
that direction, and everyone strains to be the first to
see that tiny hint of color that doesn’t belong to the
natural landscape.