A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Balloons provide thrills
A second annual hot-air balloon gathering drew a crowd at Black Bear Casino Resort this past weekend. Lines formed for tethered and free rides on Friday and Saturday.
Above right: A view of the balloons from the 12th floor of Black Bear Casino Resort Saturday night.
DeMaya, 14, DeZhion, 7, and DeNiro Leecy enjoy a tethered balloon ride with pilot and Sweetly Kismet owner Jon Parrott Saturday. The Leecys came from Hinckley for the balloon festival sponsored by the candy store and had been waiting in line for six hours, according to their grandmother, Michelle Benjamin, who remained earthbound with her youngest grandchild.
The Sunny Daze balloon heats up for a tethered ride with another group Saturday night.
Members of the Waddling Penguin balloon team begin heating up the air in the balloon as it inflates Saturday evening.
This chainsaw carving of black bears and balloons by Bad River Band member Jarod Nelson was auctioned off at the end of the festival to benefit his tribe in Wisconsin.
The POW and special-shaped balloon Lindy landed near Chub Lake and photographer Barb Korpela was there to capture both landings.
Riding in a balloon over rural Carlton County was amazing, said Superior's Meghan Edwards, one of the lucky ones who got to fly away from Black Bear Casino Resort in a giant hot air balloon Saturday. They landed in a neighborhood not far from Carlton's Chub Lake.
"It was very peaceful, very calming, there were a few trees that had changed colors already, so that was kind of neat," she said. It was also nice and warm, she added, thanks to the burner that heats the air inside the balloon, making it lighter than the cooler air on the outside.
While only a small number of folks got to actually fly over the countryside during the Kismet in Carlton Hot Air Balloon Festival last weekend, hundreds lined up for hours for the opportunity to go up for a much more affordable tethered ride in the field outside Black Bear.
Sugar High pilot and Sweetly Kismet co-owner Jon Parrott said two of the balloons, including his, stayed up as long as there were people in line, continuing the tethered rides until close to 11 p.m. both nights.
Estimates put the number of spectators for the colorful event into the thousands, with parking difficult to secure most of Saturday.
Windy weather caused some issues on Friday, but Saturday was "spectacular," he said.
"Spectators were able to see five balloons take off. That never happened when Duluth had [its balloon festival] because of the proximity to Lake Superior," Parrott said. "It was really special."
