Thousands of people gathered along the rainbow flags. Something big was about to happen. A gallery of colors filled the launch field. This was the moment so many had been preparing for and waiting for many months. Junior Auburn Berry was not a spectator; she was on the field next to her family’s hot air balloon, ready to help the rest of the crew wherever she was needed.
“It’s fun,” Berry said. “I like getting to see like 50 balloons all at one time, when I fly.”
Arriving at about 5a.m., Berry and her family sell tickets for rides on their hot air balloon. This isn’t her first time to do this; Berry has been helping her family with their hot air balloon every year since she was six. Berry’s day doesn’t end until after the nightly glow, when all of the participating balloons on the launch field are inflated and igniting their burners in the dark night sky. Around 10 p.m. it’s time to pack up and go home for the night, only to wake up at five the next morning and do it over again.
Right next to the ride ticket booth was the radio station, 98.7 KLUV’s main stage. The stage was used by many groups to present special entertainment for the festival. At 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, junior Lylan Nguyen and the Shaolin Wu-Yi Kung Fu Institute took center stage.
“The demo itself is only 45 minutes to an hour,” Nguyen said. “But you have to put a lot of time into preparing for it.”
Nguyen’s group prepared for the demonstration every week from July until right before the festival, in separate practices as well as in group classes. Everyone in the group would meet to practice, and then those in the group who went to the class would break off and continue working on the demonstration techniques.
“Practices last for an hour to an hour and a half,” Nguyen said. “We all have met to practice and make sure we’re synchronized and look good.”
The institute performed a weapons demonstration and a technique form. In addition to these Nguyen performed a kicking demonstration with only nine others from the institute.
“It’s a good experience,” said Nguyen. “I get to show what the school’s all about and get people interested.”
On the opposite side of the field was the State Farm Kids Fun Zone. This section of the festival offered a safe, educational, and fun environment for the children. In the Kid’s Zone, there was a petting zoo unlike any other. This “petting zoo” gave kids the opportunity to hold and play with some musical instruments instead of exotic animals. National Honor Society members such as juniors Cori Baker, Amy Everett and Ryan Holmson helped run this booth.
“I loved working at the ‘petting zoo’ because it felt like I was encouraging the next generation to participate in orchestra and band when they are older,” junior Cori Baker said.
Other NHS members were also scattered throughout the rest of the Kids Zone volunteering in other areas. One of these areas was arts and crafts, where junior Tina Layton spent her Saturday.
“I go to the Balloon Festival every year and I finally got an opportunity to volunteer there, so I took it,” Layton said.
For Layton, interacting with the little kids was the best part of volunteering. She plans to volunteer again next year.
NHS was just one of over 40 non-profit organizations supporting and celebrating the Plano Balloon Festival’s 30th birthday. The work of all of these and other volunteers makes the purpose of the balloon festival come to life.
The mission statement for the balloon festival says, “Our objective is to offer the participating non-profit agencies an opportunity to raise funds and awareness for their programs and services…thus enhancing the quality of life for all of us.”