Balloons to Arrive on Friday

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Ready, set, GOOOOO! It's time to start looking in the sky early in the morning and throughout the day, as the hot air balloons, in connection with the Hopkins County Dairy Festival are headed for Hopkins County. Balloonists will be arriving in Sulphur Springs on Thursday afternoon with flight to begin for the media on Friday.

 

 

Then, on Friday afternoon, beginning at 6:00 p.m., balloon pilots and members of the Hopkins County Dairy Festival Committee invite everyone out to the field west of Sulphur Springs High School, near the tennis courts, for the first official event of the week long festival. The first Balloon Glow. Bring your cameras and make plans to meet the pilots of the beautiful balloons, as they will be more than happy to show you how the giant balloons are inflated, operated and lifted.

 

 

Then, get up early each morning through the weekend and make plans to watch overhead as the beautiful balloons float through the skies of Hopkins County. The view is spectacular and a wonderful annual attraction to our community.

If you haven't met the balloon pilots before, you are certainly missing a treat. They are some of the finest people you'll ever meet and the pilots that continue to come back year after year have become almost like family. It's a wonderful opportunity for everyone to renew friendships and meet these wonderful people.

 

On Saturday afternoon at 3:00, you won't want to miss the balloon pilots, as they attempt to win their very own milking contest. Folks, that's the way that I was cojoled into riding a hot air balloon for the first time. I helped a balloon pilot learn how to milk a cow and he managed to convince me that if I could teach him how to milk a cow, he could teach me to ride a hot air balloon. Well, guess what, he was right!

 

 

The riding of the hot air balloons are a wonderful experience, as you float above your hometown and see the community from an entirely different perspective. It will help you to make certain that your own little portion of the world is significantly smaller than you ever imagined!

 

 

 

The Hopkins County Dairy Festival is full of events all next week and is sponsored each year to honor our hard working dairy farm families. Hours of work and dedication go into the festival each, so take advantage of this annual event with your family!

 

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