Seaside Balloon Fest in New Smyrna Beach

Story and photos by Mark Johnson 
 
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Up, up and away, in a beautiful balloon, named Bugly.

When I got it, it was butt ugly," said owner and pilot David Fuller.

But there was nothing ugly about the scenery at sunrise Saturday morning as the St. Augustine resident and four of his fellow aeronauts took a group of journalists and virgin balloonists on a preview flight of this weekend's inaugural Seaside Balloon Fest in New Smyrna Beach.

With blue skies overhead and an orange glow on the eastern horizon, residents got a sneak peek of what they can expect -- if the weather cooperates -- during the festivities which kick off at 5 p.m. Friday at the city's municipal airport with a "balloon glow" to music and tethered rides. The more adventurous will get a chance to take to the sky themselves Saturday between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. in one of the more than 20 hot air- powered air ships expected to launch simultaneously.

"It was very, very peaceful," said first time flier Casey Walker of Edgewater at the conclusion of her 20-minute flight, despite brushing a couple of tree tops. ""It was not as much of a rush as I expected. It was very calming."

For Fuller, who is coordinating the event along with his partner, Brett Harper of Legacy Aerial Promotions, there is much more to hot air ballooning than just floating with the breeze.

"It has been said ballooning is bending nature to your will, but that is an illusion," Fuller, 41, said of the sport he has participated in for three decades. ""It is more working and co-existing with nature to get something done."

There is also an element of ego involved. The former professional actor said ballooning is like being on stage particularly during a "glow" where balloonists light the interior of their envelopes with the flames of the propane burners used to heat the some 100,000 cubic feet of trapped air that makes the airships rise and fall.

"I love the look on the kids faces when you light the burners for the first time," Fuller said. "They either laugh, scream or run."

Saturday's preview flight took the pilots and their charges over the western half of New Smyrna Beach before landing at the airport, prompting numerous phone calls from interested observers, Harper said. Not to mention spooking a few cattle and generating a frenzy of barking from dogs below as they floated over the landscape. Such attention was the intent of organizers, who would like this weekend's event to become an annual activity.

"This is so joyful," said New Smyrna Beach Mayor Sally Mackay, who sparked the idea of the festival. ""People coming down the road pulled over and were looking up," as the balloons drifted overhead.

Mackay said she hopes the two-day fest will not only give the community something beautiful to look at, but also enhance the city's airport which has been the focus of controversy recently.

Harper agreed.

"New Smyrna Beach is great for events," he said. "They have great attendance and we believe this will be a success, if the weather cooperates."