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Flying Circus launches 35th balloon festival
President of The Flying Circus Foundation, King said that Mother Nature has been somewhat unkind to the Bealeton airfield this summer, noting that storms Sunday afternoon forced the cancellation of the circus' weekly show.
And, while it may never be an ideal time for thunder and lightening, this weekend in particular requires clear skies and mild wind as The Flying Circus hosts its 35th annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.
Ten to 15 balloons are slated to take part in the event, with launches planned for both Saturday and Sunday, King said.
King said he feels fortunate to have so many balloons committed to the event. “They’ve started to dry up a bit because people are getting out of ballooning. It’s gotten so expensive,” he said, adding that he took his first balloon ride at the circus’ inaugural balloon festival and soon earned a license to fly the crafts. King is currently teaching his 17-year-old nephew Danny King to fly hot air balloons.
This weekend, balloons will be launched at 7 a.m. and again between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The air show begins at 2:30 p.m. both days.
King said that spectators can spend the entire day at the airfield or come and go to catch the balloon launches and air show, using their original ticket for the whole day. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for kids under 12.
The Flying Circus has a new snack bar, picnic area, and bathrooms. Additional food vendors will be on site during the Hot Air Balloon Festival.
There will be limited opportunities for hot air balloon rides during the festival and King hopes to offer tethered balloon rides, if the weather cooperates.
“It takes a very gentle wind,” he said. “Ballooning is tenuous. You’re not guaranteed that this is going to happen at a specific time.”
Regardless, there will be lots of opportunities for spectators to get up close with balloons and their pilots.
Depending on how the wind blows, the show will be conducted one of two ways. If the wind blows from east to west, the balloons will be launched at the airfield and float into the distance. If the wind blows west to east, the crafts will approach the airfield and land there, King explained, noting that some balloonists will do their own thing.
“There will always be action on the field. If they’re flying in, we’ll have demonstrations while we wait,” he said, adding that he will have one or two balloons present during the festivities to fill in as necessary.
The Flying Circus hosted its first hot air balloon festival in its third year, after a couple of balloonists approached management with the idea and just as flying hot air balloons started to, pardon the pun, take off.
“They talked us into putting this thing on, and it was good," King said. "In our second year, it got so big it was scary. We ran out of everything. At that point, we said we didn’t want it that big. It was too much.
Nowadays, a crowd of 400 spectators marks a successful afternoon. And the crowds, he said, come with nice weather.
King said that the festival has always been held in the third week of August, initially set then to avoid competing with other balloon festivals. “Now, almost all of them have fallen by the wayside,” he said.
The Flying Circus is located on Route 644, off of U.S. 17 south of Bealeton, offering shows through the end of October.
For more information on the Hot Air Balloon Festival, call (540) 439-8661.
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