Gentle Sky Giants

The sun was barely up over the horizon as a team of dedicated balloonists moved massive amounts of fabric out over a parched Kyle field early Friday.

The multicolored textiles, many with company logos, were, at first, scattered like two-dimensional confetti on the ground: airless, lifeless. Then, one by one, with hot air generated by burning propane and manipulated by expert hands, these gentle giants of the sky rose off the ground, taking shape, at last appearing to the eye, as hot air balloons.

Gentle giants, not quite silent, because the burst of flame generates heat and a sound all its own. But this is the term used by aficionados of the art of combining material and hot air to thumb one’s nose at gravity.

By Friday evening when the city of Kyle, the Pie Capital of Texas, would herald the start of its Pie in the Sky Hot Air Balloon Festival, it was expected that 18 bigger than your birthday party favor balloons would float, would glow and ultimately charm all who ventured out to this free, two-day event.

Seeing the balloons, always weather permitting, wander willfully over Hays County acres, brought smiles to those out at Lake Kyle Park–especially those who had left their homes in the dark to volunteer and to oversee this respected Central Texas festival.

Overhead, the dimming light of the Blue Super moon acted like a bullet point behind each balloon as they rose skyward, now and then catching the rays of a brightening sun.

This year’s festival was anxiously anticipated, overdue after years given over to first, COVID and then, construction at Lake Kyle Park, said Susan Garrison of San Marcos, one of the founders of the festival. On this day, though, her official title is Balloon Operations Coordinator.

An accomplished pilot since the 1980s, she said, to be out here and watch the balloons actually starting to fly, was heartwarming. She also spoke proudly of the level of professionalism exhibited by balloonists.

“We are all FAA pilots,” she said. “The balloon is an aircraft,” which must annually be checked to meet the highest standards.

Of those 18 balloons registered for the event, she said 16 were set to provide off the ground maneuvers from Friday to late Saturday. Included in the festival schedule were tethered rides where one could pay for the privilege of human airs above the ground.

And each night for one hour, the balloons were expected to burn cylinders of propane in a cohesive dance that would set the balloons aglow in a line of bigger than life flashlights– all lit from within: the Glow.

Yet, perhaps, the great highlight was scheduled for Saturday morning, what organizers were calling the Grand Ascension. With the breaking dawn, as many of the balloons on site would rise in unison and float over Kyle and the county, over I-35, in what must certainly be a traffic stopping flotilla.

City of Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell was out in the early morning hours Friday with his family, taking pictures of his sons, Titus and Timothy, as they watched the balloon inflating activity. He then shepherded his wife and children into a balloon basket that would whisk them all off the ground, earth noticeably cracked by the unrelenting heat of this tense Texas summer. Mayor since 2017, he said the festival is, “Our lighthearted way of celebrating all things pie,” and at the same time, elevating that municipal standard to a new height. Pie and balloons. Who knew it could be a winning combination.

While he said he was happy the weather was balloon- friendly for the festival, Mitchell, like many other government officials in Texas, said he knew many would trade a ride in the sky for a sky full of rain clouds on this day.

And if balloons were not someone’s be all, end all, the namesake activities associated with pie–the first reason for the festival, of course, were expected to bring residents and visitors to the Lehman Road site. By Friday, children and adults were signed up to challenge each other to the All-American task of eating more pie than their neighbors. Another group were registered to win, hopefully, top honors in a pie baking competition. When summer ends, pie, after all, moves up the must have food chain, organizers emphasized.

For Kyle, Balloon meister Patrick Cannon spent the morning moving from balloon to balloon, checking on all aspects regarding safety and weather conditions.

“I’ve been in aviation all my life,” the Michigan native said. With him for the weekend event was his wife of 52 years, Carol, a Pittsburgh native. They met on a military base in Alabama, married and wanted a sport or hobby they could do as a family. They became avid balloonists after a friend who was all ready hooked, told them to give it a try.

“My job is to make sure we do everything safely,” Cannon said, noting that Labor Day weekend weather, despite the heat, would actually be good for the balloons.

Across the field, at the H-E-B balloon, inside the balloon basket is Bill Broker or 'Billy Billy,' as his friends call him. Beside him in the basket is 30 gallons of propane.

Based out of Plano, he is responsible for as many as 23 balloons, from a variety of private owners and corporations.

“I get to do everyday, what everybody wants to do once,” he said. “My office view today is the lake.”

He said he has been in the balloon business fulltime since 2016, but he and his father got involved together in the pursuit when he was just 14.

He said that balloons use liquid propane, which is under pressure, mixed with oxygen and then lighted by a spark, which may generate a stunning 10-20 foot flame.

This repeating of the flame burst heats the air in the balloon. Hot air rises. The more hot air, the greater the ability of a balloon to carry weight. Larger balloons support six tons of air, the smaller ones, about four tons of air, Broker said.

When he talks about balloons with school children, he said he tells them that there are at least 32 subjects in school where balloons have an impact: communications, maps, physics, chemistry and more.

He is the author of a 10-page booklet he shares with them, reminding them that Sir Isaac Newton is the driver of the balloon but Mother Nature is always in charge.

On this day, he noted that chase crews were out ahead of some of the balloons, so they could try to be there when the balloons landed. Balloonists are a tightly knit family.

The sport of ballooning can carry one around the world, and many here in Kyle routinely head to classic festivals, including the famous Albuquerque International Balloon Festival set this year for October.

But wherever they go, the shadows on the ground bely the majesty above.

“We call them gentle giants,” Bill said. “That’s what they really are.”