INAUGURAL BALLOON FESTIVAL TAKES OFF

The first annual Piscataquis Heritage Hot Air Balloon Festival was held June 1-3 in Dover-Foxcroft. On the morning of June 1 a hot air balloon demonstration took place on the campus of Foxcroft Academy, below, where students got to witness the process of how a hot air balloon is prepared for flight.

Observer photo/Keri Foster

While the weekend’s hot and humid conditions may have not been conducive for flights, Hot Fun Balloons of South Portland had a demonstration on balloon preparation for the public to see at the Charles A. Chase Junior Memorial Field, below, on June 2.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

Observer photos/Stuart Hedstrom

    FROM PACKED TO AIR-READY — Crews from Hot Fun Balloons in South Portland demonstrated the procedures for readying a hot air balloon for flight, as they filled the balloon with air and then fired up the burner on June 2 at the Charles A. Chase Junior Memorial Field in Dover-Foxcroft.

Photos courtesy of Sherry French

    INAUGURAL BALLOONS — The inaugural flights of the first annual Piscataquis Heritage Hot Air Balloon Festival take off from the Charles A. Chase Junior Memorial Field in Dover-Foxcroft on the evening of June 1. The festival took place from June 1-3, with thousands coming through the gates at the airport.

Observer photo/Keri Foster

    GOOD VANTAGE POINT TO KEEP AN EYE ON THINGS — Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Dennis Dyer, left, and Foxcroft Academy Head of School Arnold Shorey get ready for a hot air balloon ride on the morning of June 1 at Foxcroft Academy.