The 14th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, a four-day event dubbed a “weekend of everything that flies,” was held in Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga last February 12-15.

But if it’s a balloon fiesta, why is it dubbed the “weekend of everything that flies”? The HABF includes other aviation-related shows—para-gliders, sky-divers, kites, helicopters, and planes.

The event was first organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT) in 1994 in hopes of uplifting the spirit of the people of Pampanga following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

Since then the ballooning event has never failed to attract thousands of spectators. The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark has since also been officially recorded as one of the scheduled ballooning events in the world.

UCG youth and singles from Dagupan, Baguio and two from Manila came together to witness the last day of the Balloon Festival (Feb. 15). We were accompanied by our pastor, Mr. Serizalinio Dizon. Arriving on the evening of the 14th we camped that night to be able to make it to the show early the next morning.

Before we retired for that night we had a Scrabble game. The ladies were quite talkative that night; we had to be reminded that we were to wake up at four in the morning the next day. It’s no secret that nobody took a bath the next morning, we just couldn’t because we were not on a campsite but on the parking area! Well, we did change our clothes and brush our teeth. Breakfast was cooked by Mrs. Dizon. She takes care of us very well.

The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes in a hot air balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers.

A hot air balloon has three major parts: the envelope, the burner, and the basket. The envelope is the colorful fabric bag that holds the hot air. The gas burner produces a huge flame that heats the air inside the envelope. The basket, usually made of wicker or rattan, is where the passengers ride.

For most of us, it was our first time to see giant balloons get inflated and rise up to the air during sunrise. It was a very colorful sight. The balloons had varied shapes: an elephant, a mug, Coca Cola bottle, a tiger, and a cartoon character. Most of them were shaped like an inverted tear drop. Some were as tall as a seven-storey building. We took many pictures, even from the other aviation exhibits.

Everybody enjoyed the show. Mr. Dizon, even gave us a very enlightening lecture, while we waited for the other sky divers to fall from the sky. Cherie Caguioa, a youth from the Dagupan congregation, said that she learned a lot of spiritual and moral lessons. We all did.

We didn’t stay there for the whole day. We left the grounds before lunch, as most had to travel for five hours or more to go back home. As far as I know, everybody had a terrific time and we are looking forward to other activities in the future. Till next time then.

© 2009 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas