Who doesn’t love balloons?

It’s Balloon Fiesta weekend in my town of Sussex, New Brunswick. Pilots from all over the continent arrive to participate in the event.

It’s a huge boon to businesses in town, especially those offering accommodations and food. Not only do the pilots and their crews stay for several days, but the even attracts tourists from all over. The streets downtown are jammed!

Yesterday morning I got up well before dawn to get down to the launch field bright and early to catch a few photos of the balloons being inflated and lifting off.

On my way to the launch, I had noticed a lot of “ground fog” but I didn’t think it would interfere with the plans. As the sun rose in the sky, spectators and paying passengers began to congregate for the big moment.

If you’d like to see the photos in more detail, just click on any individual shot to bring it up.

We all thought the balloons would launch. And then came the dreaded “hold”. The person in charge of safety for both pilots and passengers deemed that the increasing fog overhead made for an unsafe environment for flying. After 3 half-hour holds, they gave up and cancelled the morning flight. Clouds don’t affect the safety, but poor visibility due to fog and/or strong winds do and flights will be postpone or cancelled in that event.

But this morning, despite the clouds, we had liftoff!

The grounds were busy, and area parking lots (manned by volunteers from various local charities and organizations as fundraisers – only $5 for the day!) were filling up, even at 7 a.m.

I scooted down the road once I saw in which direction the balloons were headed (totally governed by the winds aloft) and got in position for my first batch of photos.

The follow crews (people who help with the landing of the balloons and putting them away) headed past me so I fell in behind them to see where the balloons were going.

The best spot was on the side of the No. 1 highway near the Irving mill. Some balloons landed there while others kept going out toward Roachville and still others came down on the far side of the highway. Commuter traffic slowed significantly as drivers tried to gawk at the show while staying on the road and not running over spectators who had pulled off the road to watch.

It’s going to be a busy weekend around here! In addition to the balloon flights and the moon glows at night, there’s live entertainment on the grounds, lots of food vendors, a carnival of rides for young and old alike and a craft fair ($2 admission) in the Hussars arena. In other words, something for everyone of all ages.