Balloons Over Vermilion is coming Friday and Saturday (July 12th and 13th, 2019) at the Vermilion Regional Airport. But before the balloons fly there, some of the pilots will be participating in the Danville Boat Club’s ‘Splash ‘n Dash’ event on Thursday evening.
[Some in crowd watch the action last year as one of the pilots flies past the Boat Club’s building.]
Ten hot air balloons are scheduled to fly over Danville’s Lake Vermilion in a competition in which the pilots try to drop an object onto a target in the lake.
Although the Boat Club is private, Thursday’s event is open to the public. There is a $5 admission charge with children 10 and under admitted free. They must be accompanied by an adult.
Local pilot Donna Carlton-Vish is one of the pilots who will participate in the ‘Splash ‘n Dash’. She has been involved in ballooning for years….
”I started crewing in 1989 because of the Balloon Classic. And we had great pilots then, and my whole family was involved, of course,” said Carlton-Vish. ”And as time went on my children grew older and I was able to actually afford to become a pilot.”
And what does it feel like to fly in a hot air balloon?
”It’s like a little piece of heaven, or ballet in the sky. There is no other type of transportation that will give you that same feeling,” said Carlton-Vish on WDAN Radio’s News Makers program.
Doors at the Danville Boat Club will open at 4:30 Thursday afternoon. Some seating will be available, but the Club recommends you take your lawn chairs. Food and live music will be available during the event.
[This story by Bill Pickett. You can submit your story ideas to BillPickett@Neuhoffmedia.com.]
