Trust House Balloons over Wairarapa 2012

25 January 2012

Trust House Balloons over Wairarapa 2012

The four-day annual Wairarapa balloon festival will go ahead this year starting on Thursday 8 March.

Trust House Balloons over Wairarapa organiser Jonathan Hooker said following the balloon tragedy in Carterton earlier this month, organisers canvassed a wide range of opinions including those of nearest relatives of the 11 people who died.

“We have not received any feedback that the festival should not happen,” Mr Hooker said. “The overwhelming opinion of those we consulted was that it should go ahead.”

This year the festival’s first event on the morning of 8 March will be a special tribute flight to remember those who were lost on 7 January. Balloons will lift off together from Carterton’s Carrington Park in the traditional opening morning launch. The following six events over four days will be held as usual, with a return to Carterton for the final flight on the morning of Sunday 11 March.

Mr Hooker said the details of the tribute flight would be worked through during February.

The festival’s flight director, Martyn Stacey from Canterbury will direct the various ballooning events for the fourth consecutive year. Mr Stacey is the President of the Ballooning Association of New Zealand and has attended all previous Wairarapa balloon festivals.

“We have received strong support from the ballooning community from around New Zealand,” Mr Stacey said. “They want to fly in Wairarapa this year, even those who have not attended the festival before. There is a real feeling of solidarity amongst balloonists everywhere.”

Carterton Mayor Ron Mark said holding the festival would be a positive step towards enabling the Carterton community to return to normality. “It is also an opportunity to demonstrate our confidence and respect for our ballooning fraternity and to pay tribute to those involved in the tragedy.”

The 14th annual balloon festival will see more than 30 hot air balloons take part in a series of spectacular days of competitions and displays in and around Carterton and Masterton. Weather permitting, the balloons launch each day at dawn when the breeze is gentle and drift with the wind over Wairarapa towns, farms and vineyards.

Background

Wairarapa has hosted 13 major balloon festivals in as many years. The first was in 1999. The four-day festival usually hosts approximately 25 balloons from around New Zealand and from overseas each year.

Wairarapa is home to number of balloon pilots who have flown in the region for decades. Most of them live in Carterton. Carterton is thought to have the highest number of balloons per capita of anywhere in the world.

The combination of superb flying conditions, supportive sponsors and a welcoming and enthusiastic community has helped build the event into a key fixture on Wairarapa’s event calendar.

During the festival the balloons launch at dawn each day from locations in Masterton, or Carterton. Evening flights and a street parade are also held. All events are weather dependent.

The festival is organised and managed by members of the Wairarapa Balloon Society Incorporated, a non-profit organisation that includes local balloon pilots, event managers and volunteers. Many local volunteers are involved as ground crew during the event.

The festival is funded almost entirely through sponsorship and grants from a range of local and regional supporters.

All festival events are free for the public to attend except for the Trust House Night Glow on Saturday 10 March for which there is a small entry charge.

ENDS

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