The second annual Animas Valley Balloon Rally is set to launch just north of Durango on the third weekend of October.
Doug Lenberg, a local pilot with OTR Hot Air Balloon Adventures and organizer of the event, said launches will be held around 8 a.m. Friday through Sunday at U.S. Highway 550 and Hermosa Road
Weather permitting, attendees can view the inflation of balloons at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the 500 block of Main Avenue, in front of the Railroad Depot. Photography is encouraged and images captured by community members can be printed onto shirts at the location.
A “Balloon Glow” – where a string of pilots illuminate their balloons on the ground – will be held in downtown Durango around 7 p.m. Friday, from the General Palmer to the Gaslight Theatre to East Second Avenue.
Another Balloon Glow will be held around 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the launch site in Hermosa.
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, as well as Saturday evening, at the Balloon Glow in Hermosa, Lenberg said, tethered hot air balloon rides will be offered for $10.
Lenberg started the Animas Valley Balloon Rally last year, joining the list of neighboring towns that also offer a hot air balloon festival. A hot air balloon display is also held as part of Snowdown in the winter.
Last year, about 14 pilots showed up for the event. This year, Lenberg is estimating more than 20 pilots will take to the skies a few miles north of Durango.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Lenberg said.
Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District, said about 1,000 people showed up to the balloon glow last year in what is typically a slow time of the year for tourism.
He expects that number to increase this year.
“Shoulder season events where we can draw a lot of locals, but also some of the region, to come and check out something unique, family-friendly and free – that’s a good thing,” he said.
