Up in the Erie Air

The county’s longest-running balloon festival soars once more

By Matt Maenpaa

On a balmy summer morning, with dawn light creeping up the horizon, the flames are lit inside dozens of balloons near the corner of Erie Parkway and County Line Road. When the weather is right, these jewels float up into the quickening sky, while thousands of on-lookers peer up from the ground.

The view from above was even more stunning, according to Pat Vero, executive director of the Erie Chamber of Commerce. Vero is one of many hands involved in the upcoming annual balloon launch in Erie.

“I’d never been up in a balloon, it was wonderful,” Vero says. “It was just the most peaceful thing in the world. You don’t even realize how high up you are, and then you’re looking down upon Erie and the whole location.”

Hot air balloons have captivated the imagination for centuries now, enticing passengers with flight into the heavens. Sites like our own Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Front Range offer up stunning vistas from the cozy basket of a balloon.

Local balloonist and business owner Jeff Meeker, who has operated Fairwinds Balloon Rides in Boulder County for over 40 years now, says the views never get old. The experience of ballooning is unlike anything else.

“It’s a whole different feeling than an airplane, like floating on a cloud,” Meeker says. “There’s a stillness to it that’s almost like being suspended as you move with the wind.”

Erie’s balloon launch doesn’t have the scale or capacity for something like Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta, but the celebration of aeronautics has become a 28-year tradition for the burgeoning Front Range town. Originally started in May 1996, under the direction of Burton Moquist and original balloonmeister Steve Hunter, the launch and town fair began with a mere 12 balloons rising into the skies.

As the town of Erie grows, events like the town fair and balloon launch continue to grow alongside it. Last year’s event had nearly 40 balloons in the air across the three-day event, according to Vero. Originally paired with the town fair in May, the decision was made to separate the two events and give the balloons better weather conditions to lift off in.

Having been a part of the town balloon launch for many years now, Meeker expressed his gratitude for the organizers on all sides of the event.

“Erie’s welcomed us with open arms,” he says. “The town really does an awful lot to put together such a great event. It’s great to see balloonists from all around, so many familiar faces and happy families.”

Meeker credits Hunter with fostering so much of that love for balloonists but adds that it was local businesses and developers with the chamber of commerce that quite literally embraced the visibility of the balloons every year. Between the town fairs and the balloon launches, the town gets a few thousand visitors each year, more than the population of Erie in total when the festivities began all those years ago.

Though Hunter passed away recently, the festival is honoring his legacy with pictures of his balloon on the town fair t-shirts and pilot gifts, Vero said. “Steve Hunter really loved Erie and he wanted to bring people here, and he brought it to the town fair.”

Some things are out of the hands of both pilot and event planner, however. The launch in 2023 was originally delayed from June due to heavy rains that season, and Vero emphasized that the balloonists paid particular attention to weather for safety concerns. Due to the unpredictability of wind and rain on the Front Range, hazardous conditions can play havoc on balloons at the mercy of strong gusts.

That’s where a balloonmeister steps in, Vero explains, a role that’s been in the capable hands of Colleen Johnson for over a decade now. The meister keeps a steady eye on the weather and manages predicted flight paths, no-fly and no-landing zones and any other information the pilots could need. Since balloons can only be guided by wind currents, all parties need to be aware of altitude to not risk crossing into air space from Denver International Airport.

Johnson’s priority is putting on a good, safe event for the spectators and pilots alike, she explains, but the gathering is always a highlight for her. From memories of attending Albuquerque’s festival with her grandparents every year to training for her pilot’s license in 2006, ballooning is a vital part of her life.

“Balloonists are a tight group of individuals,” Johnson says. “It’s exciting to get together for weekend events and visit with pilots from all over the country. Pilots travel large distances to attend Colorado events because of our stunning flying area.”

The balloon launches, scheduled for early mornings on the weekend starting July 12, aren’t the only opportunity to join the festivities. Saturday evening, July 13, the town plans a Balloon Glow with food trucks and more, just west of the Soaring Heights School. There, a half dozen or more balloonists will ignite their burners but keep baskets tethered to the ground, lighting up the fields so that folks can roam the ground and meet pilots and crews alike.

“The pilots love to talk about their balloons, they love seeing the children and showing them everything that they’re doing,” Vero says. “It’s something that’s just phenomenal.”

From a town of approximately 1,600 people in 1996 to a booming 33,104 as of the last census, events like the town fair and balloon launch only add to the charm in Erie’s rustic town center. With how fast the world moves, there’s a comfort in town fairs and hot air balloons and how they bring people together.

Though everyone is welcome at the balloon launch and surrounding festivities, it should be noted that attendees won’t be able to purchase tickets to ride in balloons that weekend. Fortunately, Meeker’s Fairwinds and other local balloonists serve guests along the Front Range and beyond from May through November.

The 28th Annual Erie Hot Air Balloon Launch will take place July 12-14, 2024, from 6-8am, weather permitting. The Balloon Glow will take place July 13, 2024 from 7:30-9:30pm.

Both events are located at the northeast corner of Erie Parkway and County Line Road. The balloons will launch from County Road 5 and Colliers Parkway. For more information, visit eriechamber.org