Advertisement

Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away ...

|
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011 3:02 PM
Mike Hernandez’s ladybug balloon will be in Mancos for the festival.

Mike Hernandez, a new pilot to the Mancos Valley/Mesa Verde Country Balloon and Art Festival, is scheduled to arrive in Mancos today from Glens Falls, N.Y. He’ll bring two balloons: a ladybug-shaped balloon that he will show in the night glow and a regular-shaped balloon that he will fly that weekend.

“I heard about the Mancos festival from a friend of mine who was there a few years ago,” Hernandez said. “I was looking for an event to attend between the one in Plano, Texas, this weekend and the Balloon Fest in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 1.”

Hernandez contacted Wes Pittman (the balloonmeister) and set it up.

He says the ladybug balloon has a lot of appeal.

“People really love her,” he said.

Hernandez and his wife started ballooning in 2006, a relative newcomer to the hobby. But they grew up around hot air ballooning in the Adirondacks and were exposed to a lot of it while they were raising their kids.

“I bought a balloon ride for my wife, and we were sold,” Hernandez said.

It took him about eight months to get his private pilot’s license while he was still working for the local school district.

“Then we bought the ladybug balloon, which has given us the opportunity to get to some areas that we normally wouldn’t have,” he said.

Hernandez went on to obtain his commercial pilot’s license and then started their marketing business, called Aerophile Marketing. He resigned from the school district where he worked in March and started ballooning full time.

“It’s been going very well,” he said.

He travels all over with his balloons, but mostly in the northeast area of the United States. This will be his first time in Mancos.

“The farthest West I’ve been is Gallup, N.M., when I purchased our regular balloon,” he said.

They bought the ladybug balloon in 2010 and have flown it several times since then.

Mancos Balloon fest schedule

Mancos Valley/Mesa Verde Country Balloon and Art Festival pilots will fire up their balloons for their first flight at 7 a.m. Friday, Sept. 23. There will be tethered rides available after the launch, weather permitting. Pilots will repeat their launches at 7 a.m. that Saturday and Sunday. Look for the colorful balloons in the skies over Mancos. About 20 pilots are coming to Mancos to participate in the balloon festival this year.
On Friday, the Columbine will have seafood tacos from 4 to 8 p.m. and the balloon glow will be in Boyle Park at 7:15 p.m.
On Saturday, Sept. 24, the art festival will begin at 10 a.m. and go on until 4 p.m. all along Grand Avenue. There will be art vendors, live entertainment and carriage rides.
The Fiesta Dinner will be that evening at the Mancos Opera House, 136 Grand Ave. Advance tickets are available at the Bauer House and the Mancos visitors center. The dinner begins at 7 p.m. and cocktails are at 6 p.m. There is a silent auction, live entertainment and dancing for $20 per person. Reservations are required by Sept. 20.
On Sunday, Sept. 25, there will be carriage rides and children’s train rides all day. That evening, Arborena will host food and wine pairings at 5 p.m. Another balloon glow can be seen at Boyle Park at 7:15 p.m.
All proceeds from the balloon festival will go to the NEST: A Child Advocacy Center.

Advertisement