Red River Balloon Rally takes to the skies again

One can almost hear the familiar strains of the Fifth Dimension’s 1960s hit wafting in the background: “Up, up and away in my beautiful, my beautiful balloon.” The skies over Shreveport and Bossier City will soon be dotted with orbs of color as the CenterPoint Red River Balloon Rally returns for its eighth edition on July 12 and 13 at Louisiana Downs.

Tickets are $5, with children aged 5 and under and active military enjoying free admission with I.D.

The Rally was originally held for several years on the LSUS campus, but the Downs offers indoor comfort for visitors. “We had a lot of people who normally wouldn’t come out because of the heat who actually got to enjoy it last year just sitting inside, so that was really nice,” said Sara Nelms, director of sports for the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission.

“The reason the Sports Commission does the Balloon Rally is because there is a hot-air balloon competition that goes with the event. We host the Louisiana State Championship, and that will be on Saturday, July 13, and Sunday, July 14,” she said. “It’s early in the morning, like at 6:45, and they put this huge target out, and they have a little bean bag, and they fly and try to hit the bull’s eye on the target. They hit as close as they can, and then they measure” the distance from the bull’s eye. On Sunday, a champion will be crowned.

“It’s about navigation,” said Jay Harwell, who, with his wife, Susan, is a local balloonist. “We steer our balloons by changing altitude.”

About 25 professional balloonists will showcase their unique balloons for the public to admire. The balloons come in a rainbow of colors, patterns and even shapes. “We’re going to have Annie, the Ladybug and Gizmo from ‘Gremlins,’” Nelms said.

But the Balloon Rally features much more than colorful hot-air balloons.

Entertainment will be provided by Hidden Tracks and the Dirt Road Troubadours on Friday and Total Choice and the Hollow Decks on Saturday. Cumulus Media will also pipe in music on both days. The Downs also has several food options available.

Each day’s festivities will be capped off with a fireworks display. “Last year, we didn’t have them because they were racing the following day, so they didn’t want to scare the horses,” Nelms said. This year, the Downs adjusted their schedule to accommodate the pyrotechnics.

So what can visitors to the Rally expect? The Rally has partnered with the Bossier City Farmers’ Market, and visitors can visit with approximately 50 vendors and their wares. On the second level of the Downs, Glazier’s Beer and Beverage will have a tasting area with some new beverages for people to sample. There will also be cornhole games and other activities that are still being finalized.

“We have a lot more partners helping us do some additional things since last year,” said Nelms.

AEP/SWEPCO is sponsoring a children’s area outside on the apron. “We are working on something really cool that I can’t share yet because it hasn’t been finalized yet,” Nelms said.

This year’s new feature is a collection of “mini-balloons” of about 15 to 20 feet in size that the children can view even closer than the full-sized balloons. Like the bigger balloons, some of these come in unique shapes, including a pig and a smaller version of one of the competing balloons with a mustache.

Want to go up in a balloon? The Rally features tethered balloon rides for $25 per person, weather permitting.

Weather, especially the wind, is significant when piloting a hot-air balloon. Even a 10-mile-per-hour breeze can be too much for a bulky balloon.

Bossier City Farmers’ Market will be set up on the second level of the Downs, and feature approximately 50 vendors and their wares.

Nightly balloon glow creating a beautiful and musical display of color and flames capped with a fireworks display.

“It’s like an elephant,” said balloonist Susan Harwell. “When the wind hits it, it’s got that big mass.”

A highlight of the Rally is the Balloon Glow. Each night around sunset, the balloons are illuminated from within by the propane torches that heat the air inside, creating a display of color and flames. “It is like a show that they play to music … and they do a great job,” Nelms said. A smaller glow is held on Sunday, July 14, at the C.E. “Rusty” Williams Airport in DeSoto Parish.

Why is the Balloon Rally so popular?

“I think it’s just because it’s something so different that you’re not going to see,” Nelms said. “It’s also special, too.” People have even gotten engaged and married at the Rally.

Flying in a hot-air balloon for the balloonist “is very peaceful,” noted Jay Harwell. “When we fly, we fly in the countryside. The beauty of it is really indescribable.” Flying across the river from Bossier City into Shreveport, “we see things that you never get to see.”

When they take passengers, Harwell said, “to a person, when we’re finished, they’re awestruck by the whole thing.”

The Balloon Rally, he said, “is good, clean entertainment for the family.”

Schedule of Events

FRIDAY, JULY 12

5 p.m.: Gates open 5-6 p.m.: Piped-in music by Cumulus Media 6-7 p.m.: Hidden Tracks 6 p.m.-until: Tethered balloon rides $25 per person (weather permitting)

7:15-8:30 p.m.: Dirt Road

Troubadours 8:30-9:15 p.m.: Balloon Glow 9:15-9:30 p.m.: Dirt Road

Troubadours 9:30 p.m.: Fireworks Show

SATURDAY, JULY 13

5 p.m.: Gates open 5-6 p.m.: Piped-in music by Cumulus Media 6-7 p.m.: Total Choice 6 p.m.-until: Tethered balloon rides $25 per person (weather permitting)

7:15-8:30 p.m.: The Hollow Decks 8:30-9:15 p.m.: Balloon Glow 9:15-9:30 p.m.: The Hollow Decks 9:30 p.m.: Fireworks Show

SUNDAY, JULY 14

4 p.m.: Balloons Over DeSoto Parish held at C.E. “Rusty” Williams Airport in Mansfield, La.

This is an annual family-oriented event for everyone to enjoy. There is food, hot-air balloon rides, a car show, live entertainment, food vendors and a fireworks show. There will also be bouncy houses for the kids.

4-10 p.m.: Free parking. Shuttle service.