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September 25•26•27 2015 See Page 2 for Schedule of Events See Pages 14-17 for Pilot Bios Morning Launches: Friday • Saturday • Sunday Night Glow: Saturday (weather permitting) prosserballoonrally.org Harvest Festival in Downtown Prosser September 25•26•27 E GREA TH T PR SSER B•A•L•L•O•O•N RALLY September 25•26•27 2015 See Page 2 For Schedule of Events See Pages 14-17 For Pilot Bios A Supplement to the Prosser Record-Bulletin and the Grandview Herald • September 23, 2015 PAGE 2 • 2015 PROSSER BALLOON RALLY Welcome to the 26th Great Prosser Balloon Rally BALLOON RALLY By Morgan Everett, Balloon Chairman The balloon rally committee is excited bring this family fun event to Prosser. We have worked hard to keep the traditions of the rally going, while trying to grow the rally Friday, Sept 25, 2015 and improve each year. We are looking for new volunteers 6:00 a.m. to help us keep the traditions going, and coordinate the event • Balloonists prepare to launch Hot Air Balloons from the Prosser Airport it grows. • Balloon Rally Memorabilia on sale at the Prosser Airport We are excited to have this event in our town, and show off our beautiful area to all of the visitors. If you see a balloon 6:30 a.m. pilot, or one of our sponsors please tell them thank you, and • Pilot Briefing in the Milne building on Haggarty Lane at the Airport thanks for helping bring this wonderful event to town. 6:45 a.m. (approx. beginning times) We have sunrise launches planned for Sept. 25, 26 and • Fournier Media Day Flight - Sunrise Hot Air Balloon launches 27 out at the Prosser Airport, Weather Permitting. A Night 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Glow Show has been planned for Saturday, Sept 27 at Art • Balloon Rally Memorabilia for sale at Prosser’s downtown Harvest Fiker Stadium, and don’t forget to get there early for listen Festival to some great music from Bahuru. All of the launches and Night Glow are dependent upon the weather. 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. We are excited for great rally this year, and very thankful that Tim Gale has accepted • Harvest Festival takes place in downtown Prosser our invitation to be our Balloonmeister this year. 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. We encourage the public to grab their cameras and come out and enjoy the early • Street Dance in Historic Downtown Prosser – performing “The Bridge morning launches and Night Glow Show, sponsored by PMH Medical Center. The Band” Milne Kid Zone is another fun activity to enjoy at Night Glow, while the balloons prepare to glow. The beauty of the balloons floating over the Yakima River is a sight Saturday, September 26, 2015 that everyone should see. 6:00 a.m. The Great Prosser Balloon rally is a really special event with a lot of tradition and • Balloonists prepare to launch Hot Air Balloons from the Prosser history. Every year, it introduces a new generation of kids to hot air ballooning and Airport sparks so many great questions and interests. We appreciate the support and effort • Balloon Rally Memorabilia on sale at the Prosser Airport throughout the community to help make this a great event for Prosser every year. • Continental Breakfast on sale by PEO Sisterhood at the Prosser Airport Balloon Rally Committee Members 2015 6:30 a.m. Shirley Delaney, Morgan Everett, Scott Keller, Kendall Murphy, Danielle Morrow, • Pilot Briefing in the Milne building on Haggarty Lane at the Airport Dana and Scott McCollum, Glenda Schmidt, Jacob VanPelt, Nicole Wilson, Monica 6:45 a.m. (approx. beginning times) Parodi and Chelsea Dimas • Sponsor Appreciation Day Flight - Sunrise Hot Air Balloon launches 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. • Breakfast by National Honor Society at Keene-Riverview-School PROSSER Benton County Seat Send us your photos! 8:00 a.m. to Noon Record-Bulletin Every year The Great Prosser Bal- • Farmers Market located between the library and the City Park loon Rally is in search of pictures taken 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. by spectators, pilots and passengers • Balloon Rally Memorabilia for sale at Prosser’s downtown Harvest 26th Annual THE alike. We use Festival these photos for GREAT PROSSER our poster, ad- 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. vertising, web- • Harvest Festival takes place in downtown Prosser BALLOON RALLY site and bro- • Caren Mercer-Andreason Street Painting Festival in downtown Prosser Published Every September by Valley Publishing Co. chures. 5:30 p.m. The Prosser Record-Bulletin After every rally we • Night Glow, gates open at the Art Fiker Stadium 613 Seventh Street have a photo contest but this past year • Prosser, Washington 99350 we upped the stakes. The winner of our Balloon Rally Memorabilia on sale at the Fiker Stadium front gate (509) 786-1711 • Barbecue by Prosser Livestock Fund at the Stadium Fax (509) 786-1779 Finest Overall category earns a chance USPS 448-060 to be the rally’s “Official Photographer” • Coffee, cocoa, & pop on sale by Prosser 4-H at the Stadium www.recordbulletin.com the following year. This means you get 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. The Grandview Herald a free t-shirt showing your status, we • Pre Glow Show at Art Fiker Stadium 107 Division Street use your winning photo on our post- • Entertainment by “Bahuru” marimba bands and Badaku Grandview, Washington 98930 er, you get to post your pictures on our (509) 882-3712 social media accounts during the rally Dusk Fax (509) 882-2833 • Night Glow at the Art Fiker Stadium USPS 226-000 and, best of all, you get to be a passen- www.thegrandviewherald.com ger in one of our hot air balloons! Make sure to follow us on Facebook Sunday September 27, 2015 Danielle Fournier, Publisher and Instagram at “Great Prosser Bal- 6:00 a.m. Managing Editor: loon Rally” to get all the details about • Balloonists prepare to launch Hot Air Balloons from the Prosser Victoria Walker our annual photo contest and how to Airport Grandview Herald Editor: Tim Curtiss submit your captures. Please wait un- • Balloon Rally Memorabilia on sale at the Prosser Airport til our official announcement to start ADVERTISING: Dianne Buxton, Manager 6:30 a.m. Suzie Zuniga, Sales Representative submitting your pictures as we have specific rules and different categories to • Pilot Briefing in the Milne building on Haggarty Lane at the Airport BUSINESS STAFF: Hilkka Griffiths, Office enter. We will post this information on 6:45 a.m. (approx. beginning times) Manager our website http://www.prosserballoon- • Sunday Morning Flight - Sunrise Hot Air Balloon launches Karen Derrick, Manager emeritus rally.org for those of you who don’t COMPOSING ROOM: 8:00 a.m. to noon have Facebook. • Tim Miser, Production During the rally this year, we would Breakfast at the Prosser Senior Activity Center on 7th Street. Rebecca Fink, Production Assistant love to see all of your amazing photos 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in real time, share them with everyone • Harvest Festival in downtown Prosser G RANDVIEW using the hashtag #ProsserBalloonRal- • Caren Mercer-Andreason Street Painting Festival in downtown Prosser H ERALD ly2015 on all social media sites. 2015 PROSSER BALLOON RALLY • PAGE 3 Balloon making – it’s not just hot air By Record-Bulletin Staff The highest quality balloons envelope looks like a parachute is positioned to mouth of the envelope. This feature hen looking up in the sky this gore features a horizontal cut design. plug the hole. When the pilot wants to provides better fuel economy, eliminates Wweekend, one thought might This is done to enhance the structural vent or deflate the envelope, a line is the need for a skirt or scoop, and makes be how the magnificent balloons are strength and also its ease of repair. pulled, the parachute moves away from balloons easy to inflate. constructed. All of the gore panel seams are the opening and the hot air is released. Today all hot air balloon burners have It is a process that includes ripstops, constructed with a flat feld seam and are The parachute is attached to a double one thing in common. They use liquid flat feld, and gore seams. But here is the sewn using a double needle lock stitch. pulley system and makes the operation propane as their fuel source. When using full story on how hot air balloons are The same double needle flat feld seam is of the parachute and deflation easier. liquid propane the burner has to serve a made. used on gore seams. Along with the seam If you’re a pilot that wants a positive dual purpose. First it must convert the The first step of manufacturing a load tape is also installed. This gore load open deflation port system, some liquid propane to a vapor, so it can be balloon is, of course, the material for tape runs the entire length of the seam companies offer a unique Ultra Vent as an burnt at the orifices to produce the heat the balloon. Quality 1.9 ounce per and is one and one-eighth inch wide. To option. This deflation port utilizes a pop- that makes the balloon fly. Achieving square yard 100 percent ripstop nylon finish the envelope horizontal load tapes top and circular vent which surrounds this function is where each balloon is preferred for the most reputable are installed at strategic locations; the half the deflation port opening. manufacturer differs in burner design. manufacturers. This fabric has top, middle, and lower sections of the Each balloon is as unique as its Ballooning has come a long way repeatedly proven itself in the air and on envelope.
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