Watching the balloons at Reno Festival gives
the impression that rainbows are being
inflated for their journey heavenwards
Watching balloons soaring in the skies may not be a ‘must see’ event in the itinerary of a regular tourist. But then again, who wants to be a regular one? Choosing the path less trodden offers you something which your cousin may have ignored. And that’s fun. That’s discovery you can talk about for hours. Like watching hot air balloons in Nevada.
Located in the middle of a dusty desert, Las Vegas has created pockets of lush green parks where performances and festivals take place every weekend. Nevada skies are beautiful and enchanting. They have inspired several artists from all over with their brown terrain and a contrasting clear sky. The locals do not get to see several hot air balloons because of the heavy winds that Nevada experiences and so wait for this annual event, which is one of the largest hot-air balloon displays in the nation.
Held in the first week of September, the event is the first of the six Nevada aerial festivals. It’s followed by the Reno National Championship Air Races, The Ruby Mountain Balloon Festival in Elko, Balloona Palooza in North Las Vegas, Boulder City Air Show and Aviation Nation.
Armed with a camera I flocked to Nevada like other hot air balloon enthusiasts on a clear day to see the monstrous balloons rise while hot air was blown into them, and then watched huge swollen ones fly up to silently disappear in the
sky. Numerous specialty balloons in a variety of shapes (the American Bald Eagle, Wally the Clown Fish and Smokey
Bear) punctuated dozens of traditional hot air balloons. The balloon race offers three different types of displays, competitive events, food and music. In addition, this festival offers something not available at all events: the opportunity to wander around the launch field and watch the pilots and ground crew as they inflate and take off.
