Autumn Aloft Relaunches in Park City
My stomach is in a bunch with excitement for tonight’s Balloon Glow. Back in the day I used to volunteer to clear fields and traffic out for hot air balloon landings just so I could get free rides. It’s been years since I went up up and away but I still get a kick out of watching those big, bright orbs float on the Wasatch horizon.
Park City’s annual Autumn Aloft Hot Air Balloon Festival starts tomorrow (Saturday) with all sorts of opportunities for watching those beachballs defy gravity. “Autumn Aloft is a magical Park City event,” said event organizer Monty Coates. “Park City’s fall foliage combined with the display of the balloons provides an unforgettable sight for event spectators.” Grab your cameras and your jackets (it’s wicked cold in Park City in the wee hours) and take aim as the 24 balloons launch from the North 40 Fields at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. I prefer sleeping in so Friday’s single balloon glow in Newpark Town Center from 8-9 p.m. and Saturday’s Candlestick on Historic Main Street, 8 – 8:30 p.m. are more my speed. The Balloon pilots conduct a choreographed light show from eight balloon baskets on Park City’s Main Street between 4th and 5th Streets.
“The Autumn Aloft of the early 80s and 90s placed Park City on the map in the ballooning community,” says Mike Bauwens, Autumn AloftBalloonmeister. “As the event continues to grow and regain recognition, interest from the ballooning community continues to increase.”
More than 30 years ago, Park City resident Gene Moser and a group of local hot air balloon pilots set out to create the classiest Hot Air Balloon festival in the world. Their idea was to create a balloon festival that reflected the free-spirited, exuberance of Park City; Autumn Aloft was the brainchild of these passionate balloonists. It’s a big effort to bring these balloons to one spot year after year. Come out and appreciate the balloonists’ elegance and stamina. Maybe you can even talk them into a ride.
The schedule of events includes:
Friday, September 16
Newpark Glow
Approximately 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
A single balloon glow is scheduled for the Newpark Town Center.
Saturday, September 17
Main Launch
24 balloons will take flight from the North 40 Fields in Park City.
Access begins at 7:45 a.m.
The launch begins at approximately 8:00 a.m.
2530 Kearns Blvd. Park City, Utah
Sunday, September 18
Main Launch
24 balloons will take flight from the North 40 Fields in Park City.
Access begins at 7:45 a.m.
The launch begins at approximately 8:00 a.m.
2530 Kearns Blvd. Park City, Utah
More details on Autumn Aloft can be found at www.autumnaloft.com.