My husband, Dan, and I made plans this year to attend the 44th Annual Carolina Balloon Fest in Statesville, NC with his parents in late October. I had never been to a hot air balloon festival, and found myself looking forward to this new experience in a North Carolina town we hadn’t yet explored.
Well, we all had a wonderful time and found Statesville, NC to be a very welcoming & charming town. The festival itself was very enjoyable and made for a memorable experience. So much so, that I wanted to devote a blog post to it and share some beautiful pictures with you!
The first day of the festival, we went to the Evening Glow, which was a stunning display of over 20 balloons inflated at sunset as if they were going to take off. The balloons glow simultaneously like huge lanterns, which is a spectacular display. Below is a picture we took of this experience.
The next day, we enjoyed some lovely music from local bands, North Carolina wine, and viewed the equally stunning Mass Ascension. The Mass Ascension is a launch of all the participating balloons, done in several waves. The variety of balloons and colors made for a beautiful visual display. It was quite an experience to see this! Some pictures of the balloons and Mass Ascension are below.
At the festival, I couldn’t help but think about how the hot air balloon pilot really has to “go with the flow” in terms of piloting the balloon. While the pilot has a general idea of where he will go, the hot air balloon essentially goes wherever the wind takes it. The pilot can seek higher or lower altitudes to find wind currents and sail in various directions. Watching this in person really made me think about the saying “life is a journey, not a destination.” There is a joy in savoring the present moments, and “going with the flow” as new challenges present themselves.
Sparkle & Shine!
~♥xo, Ruth~
~ Ruth.TradesofHope@gmail.com~