Son and father will soar through the sky

Please note: The Great American Balloon Race has been postponed until 6 p.m. Sunday (June 17) due to the weather conditions.

By EVELYN GANDER
Staff Writer

The Great American Brass Band Festival Balloon Race is set to soar even higher Friday with a balloonist who has earned top national ranking. Nick Bonner of Fisherville is the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Champion.

The 17-year-old senior at Louisville's Christian Academy will not lack company at the race set for Father's Day weekend, says race coordinator Brian Beazly. Bonner and his father, Ray, are set to sail upward in separate balloons from the Junction City Airport. For the Louisville area father and son, the local balloon competition will be a family affair.

Expected to draw 30 to 35 participants this year, the balloon race traditionally has been the high-flying, rainbow-colored part of the introduction to the GABBF.

Great prizes
Crediting efforts of joint sponsors Ephraim McDowell Health and Stuart Powell Ford-Mazda, WHIR station manager Robert Wagner said prizes this year amount to $5,000. They are: grand prize, $2,500; first prize, $1,000; second prize, $700; third prize, $400; fourth prize, $250; and fifth prize, $150.

Wagner estimates 5,000 to 6,000 race-goers turned out for the event last year at the local airport. This year, the airport is scheduled to open at 5 p.m. Friday, with balloon liftoff estimated for 7 p.m. If rain or wind forces postponement, the race is rescheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday.

Wagner says local residents enjoy the race as both spectators and participants, as many of them lend their efforts to work with balloon crews. "And just enjoy the opportunity to socialize and actually participate in the event."

Praising the work of airport board members and airport manager Bill Hammond, Wagner emphasizes communitywide support for an areawide event that challenges "hound" balloons to toss 3-ounce packages of grass seed as close as possible to the "X" marked on the ground by the "hare" balloon.

Coordinating the local race each year, Beazly has sold balloons and instructed prospective balloonists for 27 years in connection with his Louisville business, Balloon Odyssey.

As definite as Beazly in his plans to be at the airport June 15, Wagner looks forward to the 2001 edition of the Balloon Race: "Being at `ground zero' when all these balloons inflate at once," says Wagner. "It takes your breath away."

Along with the attractive balloons, the race will feature great music. Bands scheduled to perform are Eighth Regiment, Air Force Reserve Bagpipe, Air Force Brass Quintet and Dixie Express, Euphouria and Main Street Brass. Entertainment also will include pony rides.