What makes Ashland BalloonFest fly? A year of planning and a love for balloons

ASHLAND — Hot air balloons are part of Ashland’s identity year-round.

They appear in shop windows, visitor guides and restaurant displays. This familiar sight will take flight June 25-28 at the Ashland BalloonFest.

Thousands of visitors are expected to watch the soaring hot air balloons lift off over Freer Field. Behind each launch, there’s a large team of volunteers who make it possible.

Some volunteers are in their 70s, while others are not even 13-years-old.

Luke Wash, vice president of the festival committee and hot air balloon pilot-in-training, started volunteering at 12-years-old.

Wash is responsible for organizing the field, set up, tear down and helping wherever he can throughout the event. This is Wash’s 10th year volunteering and fourth year as vice president.

BalloonFest holds lots of significance for Wash. He grew up near Freer Field, and watched balloons soar from his living room window.

“
I lived next to the field, so it was basically my backyard. Some mornings in the summer, I would look out my living room window and I would see a hot air balloon lift off from my backyard pretty much. 
That’s kind of what got me fascinated about hot air balloons,” Wash said.

His fascination led him to volunteer, and eventually own a hot air balloon.

Wash represents the younger generation of volunteers, joining a decades-long tradition.

Rusty Cates, the festival’s announcer, is entering his 31st year with the event.

Cates and Wash have dedicated many years to BalloonFest and watched it evolve.

“For 36 years, the essence of it is the same. 
Big colorful balloons, beautiful summer weather, blue glow, but it’s always changing,” Cates said.

“Little by little over the years, things have changed, and I think a lot has been thrown at it this year to make it the best ever. Just to get more people than ever out, the committee came up with some great ideas.”

Wash said it’s all about the volunteers and sponsors. So much goes into planning the event, but wouldn’t be possible without the hundreds of hands putting everything into place.

“Everyone is a volunteer,” Wash said.

There are 22 members of the BalloonFest Committee, along with hundreds of volunteers who help with parking or inflatables during the event.

“The sponsors make it happen. 
It’s a very expensive event to put on. So with the support of all of the local sponsors, that is a huge help to us. And it’s just that, the volunteers, because none of us get paid to do it. 
We just put a bunch of love and time into it and the event happens. If we didn’t have passionate people on the board or coming in to help during the event, the event would not happen,” Wash said.

“When you consider we have 30 balloons coming in, and every balloon has four or five volunteers, that’s 150 volunteers that are coming in just to help the balloon crew,” Cates said.

Being behind the scenes, putting all the pieces together, is part of the volunteer appeal.

“I think it makes people feel like they’re part of the show,” Cates said. “You can have just as much fun being the curtain guy, being backstage, a stage manager, as being in the show.”

The festival takes a year of planning for the three-day event. Weather, however, can change plans in an instant.

Earth, Wind and Fire is not just a band name for BalloonFest, they are essential factors to determine whether a balloon can lift off.

There are nine balloon launch events throughout the festival weekend. Almost every year, weather has canceled at least one launch.

“We’ve had some washout weekends, and it’s so disappointing,” Cates said.

Wash said conditions could also look fine on the ground, but in the air could be completely different.

“If it’s nice on the ground, it seems like the balloons are gonna fly, but 500 feet in the air, there’s 20-mile-an-hour winds. They can’t fly,” Wash said.

Sometimes it’s too hot. The heat from the propane is not as effective in warm weather to maintain the desired temperature. The hot air balloons rely on heated air for lift inside the envelope.

Cates said if they can have seven out of the nine balloons launch, then it’s a successful year.

The organizers have added lots of new attractions to this year’s BalloonFest, but the hot air balloons leave the biggest impression.

A balloon envelope can range from 50,000 to more than 100,000 cubic feet. Wash’s balloon measures about 90,000 cubic feet. He said this can fit roughly 90,000 basketballs.

“Some people are just absolutely in shock because of how tall it is,” Wash said.

The size is a shock to newcomers, and the heat required to fly is powerful to feel. Cates said a single flight has enough thermal energy to heat someone’s house for a year.

“It’s a multiple sensory experience. Everything is tingling. If you’re close enough as they’re launching, you can feel the heat off the propane, you can smell it. The colors are just so eye-popping on most of these envelopes,” Cates said.

New attractions this year include chainsaw wood carvers, axe throwing, monster trucks, helicopter rides and a 100 Jeep display. Organizers are also bringing back tethered balloon rides.

The festival attracts people all over Ohio and beyond. This year, the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure will pass through Ashland, and America’s 250th anniversary is expected to draw large crowds.

The event invites everyone to explore, ask questions and fly.

“Go chase the balloon, see the balloon up in person,” Wash said. “It’s just such a cool experience because you don’t realize how big it is in person and how many people are involved in that, it’s a really cool learning experience.”

Experiences like these are what keep BalloonFest growing and bringing in new volunteers, just as they did for Wash.