Ridgway festival a hit despite weather

Kati O’Hare

Daily Press Writer

RIDGWAY — Cars and balloons; food and music. These were just a few of the festivities visitors and locals enjoyed this weekend at Balloons ‘N Varooms in Ridgway.

Eighteen balloon pilots and their families from Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona gathered in Ridgway this weekend for the fourth year of ballooning.

The event, started by San Juan Balloon Adventures owner Gary Woods, started Friday morning with a “fun flight” at RE/MAX Launch Field along Highway 550.

If visitors were at the field at 6:30 a.m., they could most likely talk a pilot into a hot air balloon ride. Friday, pilots were just starting to arrive in town, but about five balloons floated through the sky.

Saturday and Sunday morning there were “mass ascensions” scheduled at the field, but because of slight winds on Saturday morning, balloons were grounded.

But that didn’t stop the fun.

Event sponsors held a morning pancake breakfast and visitors could view merchandise at local booths and the classic car show that was also held at the field.

“We had a good turnout and without the balloons, the car show took over,” Woods said about Saturday’s events.

The show was open to anyone with a shiny car to show off and 25 entries participated. Visitors could vote on their favorite and the “peoples’ choice award” went to Montrose resident “Happy” Jack Spiri with his Porsche Spyder, a look-alike of actor James Dean’s car.

The Ridgway High School Solar Car Team also entered the show with their “Sunshine Mountain Traveler” solar car. The team designed and built the car from scratch in 1999 and have been racing it each year in the Solar Challenge. The challenge is either a cross-country race or speedway race. In 2006, the students took third place at the Texas Motor Speedway, running the car for four days, eight hours a day.

Residents Sandy Sloan and Charlotte Patterson, who live above the field, where checking out the festivities Saturday.

“They did a really nice job this year,” Patterson said. “I like to see it continue and grow.”

Both women were up at 6 Saturday morning to watch the balloons take off and were bummed the weather didn’t cooperate.

Despite the weather, Woods was pleased with the turnout for the weekend.

“The town was full yesterday (Saturday) and there was a lot of business,” he said. “That is the whole idea of the (balloon) rally, to bring people in during a not so busy time of year.”

Friday night, people gathered at the town park to watch the “balloon glow.” Winds started to pick up, but two balloons were still able to show their colors as the sun went down.

Ridgway resident Carolyn Stiltner organized the music for the event, which included many local artists.

Music played through Friday night and Saturday. Because of weather on Saturday night, the balloon glow was canceled, but many participants enjoyed live music at local restaurants.

“I still focus on local (musicians) to give them a chance to be a part of the community event,” Stiltner said. “I concentrated on music to get people out, including lots of kinds of music.”

Sunday morning the skies opened and were calm enough for pilots to finally show off their balloons.

“There was a little window that balloons were able to put up,” Woods said. “It was a good flight, short because of weather, but it was good for the weekend.”

Pilot Jerry Garcia and his wife, Mary Ann, came in from Albuquerque, N.M. to enjoy the event, which they have participated in every year. They have also attended the Fourth of July balloon festival in Montrose for the past 10 years.

“We are not just here to fly, we’re also here to visit,” Garcia said. “Everyone has their favorite rally. This one is small and intimate, and the smaller the more relaxed. And of course the views are tremendous.”

Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com