Crowds gathered to watch hot air balloons take flight in Pittsfield this week for part of the Suncook Valley Rotary’s 44th annual hot air balloon rally. Organizers say the free event draws over 10,000 people to the area.
“We’re the only hot air balloon rally left in the state. There used to be a couple over the years, but they kind of dwindled,” said Fallon Reed, a member of the Suncook Valley Rotary club. “But we’re going on 44 years strong and it’s a free event.”
Balloon pilots from New Hampshire and around the country come to fly for the annual rally.
Mike Olin, of Warren, is the “balloon meister” for the event, which means he keeps pilots informed on what they need to know to fly in the area, including where they can or can’t land.
“I’m responsible for saying, ‘OK, we can open up the field, we can take-off, or the weather conditions aren't conducive and we can't fly,’ ” he said.
His son, Gabe Olin, was the youngest pilot on the field, at 20 years old, at this year’s festival. He just got his commercial license and is training to become an airline pilot. He said he’s been coming to the festival and helping out his dad “since I could walk.”
Olin said it was extra special for him to be flying the Stoweflake balloon this year. As a child he used to go to a hot air balloon rally in Stowe, Vermont.
“Every year for my birthday, I’d go there and see this balloon fly. And then we bought it a couple of years back when they went to sell it,” he said. “So it’s really special for me to fly this balloon here.”
Bruce Byberg, of New Jersey, has been flying hot air balloons for over 36 years. He flies the recognizable RE/MAX balloon for New England. He says the festival, and the ballooning community it brings together, has kept him coming back to this event for nearly 20 years.
“You become family just after your first time here,” he said. “I've watched some of these kids grow up from when they were being pushed around in strollers to now they're crew people with their parents. And yeah, it's kind of neat to watch them grow.”
