Joining the ranks of neighboring towns, Durango will host the first Animas Valley Balloon Rally this weekend.
While the town puts on a hot-air balloon display for Snowdown in January, there hasn’t been an official show in the summer or fall months, as there has been in other towns in the Four Corners, including Mancos, Pagosa Springs and Albuquerque.
“I don’t know why we haven’t had one in the fall,” said Doug Lenberg, a local pilot with OTR Hot Air Balloon Adventures, who helped organize the event. “I guess no one ever sat down and put it together.”
Lenberg said that earlier this year, Al Harper, owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and Ron Smith, president of the Cottonwoods Homeowners Association, asked if he could generate interest in a fall event.
Lenberg asked his pilot friends if they’d be interested in flying the weekend after Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta, and he was able to get 14 pilots from six states to sign on.
“The next step was to go around town and get community involvement,” Lenberg said.
And he did.
Seven hotels offered to host the pilots for three days: Holiday Inn & Suites, Marriott Residence Inn, The General Palmer Hotel, Best Western Durango Inn & Suites, Best Western Rio Grande Inn, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and the Iron Horse Inn.
Several businesses – including Hermosa Creek Grille, the D&SNG, Colorado Eagle Distribution – sponsored events throughout the weekend.
Also, County Gas in Cortez offered to fill up the propane tanks for balloons.
Around 8:15 a.m. Friday, a flight for local and regional media groups will be held.
Later that evening, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., a Downtown Durango Balloon Glow will be held, and Main Avenue will be closed from the General Palmer to the Gaslight Theatre to east Second Street as balloons light their canopies from the ground.
On Saturday, balloons will lift off around 8:30 a.m. The public can help pilots set up and inflate balloons. No experience is necessary. Pilots will also participate in a “Baggie Toss,” where they try to hit a target from the sky.
Pilots on Sunday will hit the skies again around 8 a.m.
The launch site is at U.S. Highway 550 and Hermosa Meadows Road. All events are weather-permitting.
Anyone interested in volunteering can call Lenberg at (505) 947-1242 or just show up at the launching site at 8 a.m.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
