LEWISTON — The Force unfortunately did not take flight Saturday evening when the 6 p.m. balloon launch was canceled due to strong winds. Balloon pilots and crews remianed hopeful that they would still be able to take off at some point, but it never happened. Nineteen balloons would have taken off at the 6 p.m. […]
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How to chase a balloon from the Great Falls Balloon Festival
AUBURN — When chasing a balloon, don’t stop on the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, even if your husband is the pilot. If you do, the police will appear in your rearview mirror and ask you to kindly move along. That’s what happened to Ellen Varney, who was driving a chase vehicle following Dick Varney’s balloon, Blacky, […]
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Balloons take to the skies Saturday morning
“We had 22 balloons here” that flew Saturday morning, said Marcus Talarico, vice president of the festival and balloon ride coordinator. “We had good conditions for the flights.” Fifteen balloons went up at Simard-Payne Memorial Park, including the popular specialty balloons of Darth Vader and Yoda. Seven balloons lifted off from a Lewiston High School […]
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First balloon rides features hidden views, peaceful vistas, exciting landing
LEWISTON — Flying never seemed like a big deal. It’s the landing that I worried about. So when the Great Balls of Fire balloon lifted five of us Friday morning from Simard-Payne Memorial Park, I was feeling pretty good. Thrilled, actually. It was my first balloon flight. As I watched the other balloons in the […]
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A very ‘Star Wars’ balloon festival
LEWISTON — Riley Shible did not seem to know his next move. The 3-year-old had already high-fived each stormtrooper with his left hand and his right. He had rapped his knuckles on their shell-like armor and examined every inch of their gear. “He is so taken with these guys,” said Julile Shible, Riley’s nana. “He […]
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Landing a balloon at Casella is one thing; getting it out is another
LEWISTON — The balloons that launched from the Great Falls Balloon Festival on Friday morning at Simard-Payne Memorial Park made it back to Earth safely and in good shape. One balloon landed in Lewiston easily enough. But getting it from the landing site was another story. Joel Jones of Alabama landed his Windspirit balloon at the […]
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Great Falls Balloon Festival: Let’s do launch
LEWISTON — It was a beautiful morning for a balloon launch. The weather cooperated to allow the Great Falls Balloon Festival start with a full launch Friday morning from Simard-Payne Park. We will have an update from the festival later. For now, you can check out video and photos from the festival. Come back at […]
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Festival’s new balloonmeister: ‘We’ve got a great bunch of pilots’
LEWISTON — Balloon pilot Bill Whidden of Florida arrived in Auburn on Wednesday and from his Fireside Inn hotel room, he looked up the aviation weather forecast for Friday’s Great Falls Balloon Festival’s 6 a.m. launch. He smiled. “We’ve got only two knots of wind coming out of the north going due south, so if […]
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What the Wonder balloon and Lewiston have in common
LEWISTON — While sifting through information about this year’s Great Falls Balloon Festival, some fun facts were found about the Wonder Bread balloon that illustrate how small the world really is. Lewiston and the Wonder Bread balloon, which is new to the festival this year, have a few things in common: A history of hot […]
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‘The Force’ gives lift to Great Falls Balloon Festival this weekend
LEWISTON — Lewiston will take on a “galaxy far, far away” look and feel during the Great Falls Balloon Festival in Lewiston Aug. 19-21. This theme of year’s balloon festival is “The Force Takes Flight,” picking up on the popularity of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” movie, released last December. The festival, now in its […]