Nineteen hot air balloons will fill the skies of Morgantown next weekend during the annual Balloons Over Morgantown event.
University Toyota’s Balloons Over Morgantown is an adaptation of the decades-old Mountaineer Balloon Festival that ended after its festival grounds became unsafe for balloon launches. Due to the event’s popularity, and the great memories it holds for many West Virginians, it returned as Balloons Over Morgantown in 2015. Although it is a simpler version of the previous festival, it remains a seasonal hallmark of Morgantown.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, the event will kick off with NightGlow, a special display held at the Morgantown Mall. In a reserved area in front of the WVU Medicine building, the night will be filled with the vibrant glow of colorful balloons lit up for the community to step right up to and marvel at the aircrafts.
“Everyone can get up close to the balloons. It’s a wonderful thing for the kids,” said University Toyota president and event organizer Andy Claydon. “You got this wonderful image of the glowing balloons, and especially for children, they’re just so enormous. The roar of the burners and that sort of thing is quite thrilling for them.”
Friday morning, the balloon launches will begin. Friday and Saturday will have launches at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., with another 8 a.m. launch on Sunday. Weather, visibility, wind and wind direction are a few factors that may prevent balloons from making a safe flight, resulting in delays or launch cancellations. Launch updates will be posted on the event’s Facebook, Balloons Over Morgantown, and X page, hotairballoonwv.
Balloons and pilots participating in this year’s event include co-founder Van Anderson’s Fun One II, Stew Gibboney’s golden SnapDazzle, Gregory Miller’s flame-colored Phoenix, Chris Christopher’s Mountain Momma, Keith Sproul’s Pig Headed — whose name is quite literal, with its comical shape of a pig’s head — and more balloons of varying sizes, shapes and colors. Co-founder Bob Sparks will take to the sky in a one-man balloon, or a cloudhopper, riding in a harness rather than a basket.
Many pilots have been returning to the event time and time again since its beginning as the Mountaineer Balloon Festival. As one of the last balloon events of the season, the excitement created by the twists and turns of West Virginia’s hills and the views of Morgantown, Balloons Over Morgantown is loved by spectators and pilots alike.
“Some [pilots] have been coming here since the late 80s,” said Claydon. “The pilots like to fly here. The hills and valleys make it very challenging, it’s a good, exciting countryside to fly over. It’s quite stunning.”
Spectators can watch the balloon launches from fences along the Morgantown Airport’s runway, and locations near the area offer views of the balloons after they’ve reached the sky. Chasing balloons is another way to enjoy the event, following their journey across the skies and potentially helping pack the aircraft up after it’s landed. Even if you’re unable to make a special stop by the airport to see the launch, they’ll be visible across town wherever the wind may take them. If you’re out running errands next weekend, look up — you may just see a sky full of balloons.
“[My favorite part] is when they arrive. There’s a lot of planning, and then all of a sudden everyone arrives with trailers and starts to get their balloons assembled, and all of a sudden you’re caught up in the excitement of the event,” said Claydon. “But I suppose the very best part is actually flying, because it’s so still and quiet. It’s a very tranquil, incredible feeling.”
For more information, visit the event website at BalloonsOverMorgantown.com.
