Gov. Pineda is happiness personified over the successful hosting of the balloon fest.
LUBAO, Pampanga – It’s breaking all records set by previous hot air balloon festivals not only in the Philippines but in Southeast Asia. This was the assessment made by balloon pilots, event organizers as well as tourists who flocked by the thousands to witness the opening day of the Philippine International Balloon Festival in Barangay Prado Siongco here early Thursday morning where 35 hot air balloons, including several specially shaped balloons from 18 countries, took to the air.
Event organizer Steven Kim fromSouth Korea said, “this is definitely better than Clark because the conditions are good… wind direction, wind speed and the wide expanse of the staging area.” Along with then Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor and Director Ronnie Tiotuico, Kim pioneered the hot air balloon festival in Clark in 1994 and has since become a perennial participant to the event.
Kim noted that Lubao ranks among the few sites in the world where the wind conditions are favorable to hot air balloon flying like in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the USA where hundreds of balloonists participate yearly.
He said that unlike in Clark where the wind is uni-directional or moving in only one direction, the Lubao site has “winds in wide circles.” The favorable wind condition virtually makes balloons fl oat in the air and come back to their take off points, he said.
History
“This is a great work, great job, this is history,” Kim added owing to the huge crowd that gathered to witness the first day of the hot air balloon festival here. A British balloonist named Lee piloting a specially shaped superbike or motorcycle shaped balloon shared the same observation.
When asked of his impression he said, “so far so good.” But unlike Kim, he said this is his first time in the Philippines but he is already looking forward to next year’s event. The British balloonist said it takes one and half hour just to inflate his superbike shaped balloon which has 147 defl ation systems that have to be sealed by turn and is 100 meters across from end to end.
Balloon pilot Pierre Ridiwasher, 36, from Switzerland, like the British pilot, said it’s his first time in the Philippines. “It’s my fi rst time here, nice people, nice organization,” he said. Engr. Marni Castro, driving his yellow Mitsubishi 4×4, is his assigned chaser.
Tourism Regional Director Tiotuico said the Philippine International Balloon Festival is destined to break all records as the crowd estimate is more than what they anticipated for the opening day. Tiotuico also said the Clark balloon fiesta which had at most less than 30 balloonists in its 19-year history was also broken by the number of balloonists who joined the event here at 35.
Bringing balloons to the masa
For her part, Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda, who graced the opening day, said the idea was to bring the balloon festival down to the level of the masses by making it more accessible and affordable. “May tiyo ako na 80 years old magsasaka na talagang pangarap niyang makapasok pero dahil magsasaka lang siya hindi siya maka punta (I have an 80 yearold uncle who is a farmer and he really wanted to go but because he is only a farmer he cannot afford to go),” Pineda said referring to previous balloon festivals held at the Clark Freeport Zone which is about 33 kilometers away from here.
Meanwhile, Supt. Bernard Perez, Pampanga PNP Mobile Group chief and ground commander in the 300-hectare balloon festival venue placed the opening day crowd at some 10,000. The Philippine International Balloon Festival
will last until Sunday, April13.
