The Great Forest Park Balloon Race

Great Forest Park Balloon Race 2009
in St. Louis

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The iconic Energizer Bunny® Hot "Hare" Balloon pink bunny balloon, piloted by Glo Kehoe, Albuqurque, NM, celebrated its 20th birthday at the 37th Annual Great Forest Park Balloon Race. The pink balloon, with its signature blue sandals, is 15 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, weighs 1,170 lbs., and is powered by double burners that keep it flying with the force of 30 million BTUs.

Milo (age 6), son of Jennifer Cravens of St. Peters, MO, carefully focused his camera to take pictures of the hot air balloons taking off from Central Fields in Forest Park for the 37th Annual Great Forest Park Balloon Race.

Great Forest Park Balloon Race - Energizer Bunny Birthday Celebration Takes the Cake
by Betty Moore, SLFP.com
St. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), September 19, 2009 - In the world of hot air ballooning, there is usually only one strong element that powers the event. The wind, or in many cases, lack of.

On Saturday, September 19, pilots of 64 balloons were nervously looking at another important element - rain. A storm was moving into the flight path of the 37th Annual Great Forest Park Balloon Race, scheduled to lift off from Central Fields at 4:30 p.m. with the launch of the Energizer Bunny® Hot "Hare" Balloon leading the classic hare-hound chase.

The 166' iconic pink bunny balloon, piloted by Glo Kehoe, Albuqurque, NM, was also celebrating its 20th birthday. The balloon, with its signature blue sandals, is 15 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, weighs 1,170 lbs., and is powered by double burners that keep it flying with the force of 30 million BTUs.

To celebrate the event, "The Cake" hot air balloon, owned and piloted by Keith Sproul, New Jersey, made a special appearance. The 80 ft tall balloon, with Happy Birthday in large script letters, featured 20 candles, 12 ft tall with 5' flames and weights 807 lbs.

As the bunny crew began to unfurl the 5,000 linear yards of fabric that makes up the balloon, Ken Walter, pilot of Kay's WindDancer balloon, sponsored by American Airlines, stood nearby checking the weather report via his cellphone.

"The wind may not be the problem today," stated Walter. "It's probably going to be the rain, because there is a storm just 20 or 30 miles south of us. But it's moving slowly in this direction. I think we still might be able to get a short flight in before it hits us so we can put on a nice show for the crowd," he said.

The event in Forest Park has become a traditional family day with festivities and children's activities including the Purina/Alpo Children's Entertainment Area, pony rides, a climbing wall, interactive inflatables, games and crafts, skydiving and live music performances.

Festival-goers waited patiently in long lines for favorites like funnel cakes, BBQ sandwiches, popcorn, cottoncandy and anything cold to drink in the food court area.

Throughout the overcast afternoon, balloon pilots and their crew also waited in anticipation of the liftoff at 4:45 p.m.

Shortly after 4:00, the announcement came over the speaker that due to the threat of rain, the start of the race was being moved up to 4:15 p.m. Saddly the Energizer Bunny, would not be lifting off. The KMOX balloon, piloted by Joe Ream, Champaign, IL, would be substituting as the hare for the race. The crowd cheered enthusiastically as Ream's crew quickly inflated the balloon and rose into the gray sky.

The race was on. But for many crews unable to inflate their balloons in the short window allotted for takeoff, it was a quick thrilling moment to fire up the burners with blasts of propane, before calling it a day.

"It's the Bunny's twentieth birthday, and he decided to stick around and have a party," quipted John Marlow, president of the Great Forest Park Balloon Race, as he hurried toward a balloon crew waiting to leave the field.

The 38th Great Forest Park Balloon Race festivities are scheduled for September 17 - 19, 2010 at Central Fields in Forest Park.

Kevin Knapp, pilot of the Mayflower balloon, fires up the propane burners to inflate the envelope as his crew holds the basket steady.

"The Cake" hot air balloon made a special appearance to help celebrate the Energizer Bunny® Hot "Hare" Balloon's 20th birthday.

Janice Sines, pilot of the Soaring Eagle II balloon, sponsored by Fontbonne University, waved at the crowd below.

Spectators cheered in anticipation as crews quickly inflated the hot air balloons for the liftoff.

The Great Forest Park Ballooon Race festivities have grown over the 37 years with more children's activities including the popular train ride around the field, climbing walls, inflatables and games.

As the hot air balloons lifted off Central Fields in Forest Park for the Great Forest Park Balloon Race, everyone with a camera began taking pictures of the colorful balloons floating overhead in the gray overcast sky.

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