Perfect weather makes Alabama Jubilee a success
May 29—Florence resident Megan Richey had never flown in a hot air balloon before, but she finally got her chance Saturday as her team and 60 other hot air balloons soared into the sky over Decatur as throngs of onlookers gazed in wonder.
A long line of vehicles was waiting at Point Mallard Park early Saturday morning to see the first event of the two-day Alabama Jubilee in which balloonists from Decatur and states as far away as Wisconsin and Louisiana sailed into the air together.
The Daikin balloon, flown by Mike Wahl of Decatur, was the first to lift off during the hound and hare chase while the rest of the balloons "chased" him. It didn't take long for all of the balloons to launch, and they sailed south past the Point Mallard baseball and softball fields as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" played through a loudspeaker.
The event continues today, with balloons expected to arrive at Point Mallard from about 7 to 8:30 a.m. for the Lynn Layton Key Grab.
On Saturday morning, Richey and her friend Riley McClellan of Huntsville, flew with Matt Torgerson, from Anchorage, Kentucky, in a black, blue, green, and yellow patterned balloon they called Storm.
"I'm looking forward to it," Richey said. "I mean, I'm a little nervous because heights aren't my favorite thing. I'm excited and nervous at the same time."
McClellan has attended the Decatur event her whole life and this was the first time she rode in a hot air balloon that wasn't tethered to the ground.
"(Torgerson's) wife designed the balloon and it's brand new," McClellan said. "This is the very first time we're putting it in the air."
"We'll cross our fingers," Richey joked.
Louisiana resident Karen Kent has been flying hot air balloons since the early 1990s and has been participating in the Alabama Jubilee for more than 20 years. She said there have been few changes since the first Jubilee she attended.
"It's grown a little bit, but the event is a great event. They don't need to change anything" Kent said. "It's a nice family event. You have events like the car show; there's just stuff to do here all day long."
Kent laughed when she recalled the reasons for why she began flying.
"Since I was a kid, I've always been passionate about flight," Kent said. "I would look at the birds and ask, 'Why can't I do that, it looks like fun?'"
Kent's balloon had patterns of red, blue, orange, and yellow and she named it Karen's Dream.
Barbara Fox and her husband Mark drove from Cocoa Beach, Florida, to participate in their fourth Jubilee and they expressed the tone of the Memorial Day weekend by tying an American flag underneath their basket. She said she was looking forward to the Jubilee this year because of the clear and warm weather.
"Last year, it was cold and rainy and we only flew one very short flight," Fox said. "(The weather) is supposed to be wonderful this weekend. I think we'll get all the flights in."
Huntsville resident Casey Green, her mother Cathy Hedbawny, and Casey's two children were among the many onlookers at the Jubilee. Green and her children have been three other times but this was Hedbawny's first time.
"They told me about it several times and I just wanted to come," said Hedbawny, a Florida resident.
"This was the first time we've seen them launch," Green said. "This is the first time they've actually all taken off. It was either too much wind or not enough wind, but it's perfect conditions today."
Green said she enjoys the community fellowship that the jubilee creates every year.
"I like everybody coming out ... it just gives you something to look forward to," Green said.
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.
