The sight of colorful balloons lifting into the skies over Ceres River Bluff Regional Park early Saturday dazzled children and adults alike during the first annual “Skies the Limit” hot air balloon festival. The event, hosted by the city of Ceres, drew several thousand persons.
Wind caused the balloons to launch earlier than planned – before the city could do its opening ceremony at 6:30 a.m.
Despite the wind being too breezy and nixing plans to offer tethered balloon flights and disappointing those who showed up for a ride, the event earned the praises of many who attended.
“It was a blast! Can’t wait for next year,” said Marissa Ramirez.
“Everyone enjoyed it,” said Ceres resident Eileen Stokman.
Ceres photographer Don Cool showed up at 4:30 a.m. to ensure he would get in and found a line already forming at the gate.
“I’d have to give the city an ‘A,’” said Cool. “I thought they did a fantastic job. Plenty of volunteers. People got to walk right up to the balloons. It was almost a hands-on thing and the balloon people were letting people help. It was pretty cool. I love the balloons. Modesto used to do it at the airport like in the late 80’s and it was a blast. We need more than the Street Faire around here so I was excited about it.”
Cool decided to follow some balloons, some of which drifted into Keyes.
“They were all over the Keyes neighborhood,” said Cool. “I mean, some of them were just barely clearing the top of the houses.”
One balloon reportedly landed in the field near Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Turlock east of Highway 99.
Faustino Rameño Jr. was golfing at the neighboring River Oaks Golf Course with friends when one of the balloons had to touch down on the second hole right after they had played through it.
“We were told the wind forced them to land there,” said Rameno. “Pretty cool to watch though.”
“We had probably 3,000 to 4,000 people out there,” said Tamra Spade, the city’s Economic Development manager whose idea it was to stage the event after her experience with the Ripon balloon festival. “It was amazing.”
The event also featured a car show that drew about 40 vehicles, craft and food vendors, live entertainment by Patty Castillo Davis and Greg Scudder and a display of the Sheriff’s helicopter.
Others besides Cool decided to track balloons as they drifted away from Ceres for flights that lasted about 90 minutes or so.
“We were out there at about 6:15 and there were people everywhere,” said Michaeleen Francis Hanrahan-Teixeira. “It looks like a successful turnout. We didn’t try to park as we love to follow a balloon and watch them land.”
She later watched one of the balloons touch down in a Keyes subdivision under construction.
Spade has a list of things to change the festival if it happens next year, such as ending the festival at 1 p.m. instead of 3 p.m. to avoid afternoon heat.
One unexpected problem was the vast numbers of people who parked on the canal bank on Hatch Road. Despite the city offering free shuttles from various places some decided to create their own parking for quicker park access.
Laurie Cheatham, a balloonist who got into the hobby in 1986 first as a photographer, attended the first annual event with her balloon dubbed Heiress. Through a friend they started serving on a ground crew and over a four-year span they traveled to every balloon event that they could, often taking the truck, trailer and balloon to the event for the pilots. In 1991 she purchased her first balloon and earned her pilot certificate and commercial license and now owns a fleet of four balloons.
“Ballooning has taken me to places I would never have a reason to go to and has given me the opportunity to meet people I never would have met otherwise.”
She has found ballooning to be challenging, rewarding and peaceful; she never tires of sharing the sport with new people and enjoys all the friends she has met along the way.
Another balloonist Kelly Couch brought his balloon, “Sierra Blue” to Ceres.
Kelly has been in love with all things aviation since the age of 6, hanging around the airport in Alaska and flying with his father in an Aeronca Sedan float plane.
Shortly after college and professional school, Couch purchased a 1948 Stinson airplane with a blown engine which he restored and learned to fly.
Robbie Burns traveled to Ceres all the way from Reno, Nevada with his balloon Wolf Spirit. He remembers being young and being a part of the crew at The Great Reno Balloon Races. In 2020, he bought his first balloon and immediately began taking lessons. After getting his private pilot certificate in 2021 he set out to fulfill another dream of designing his own balloon. He had balloon manufacturer Kubicek build a balloon he designed which was named in honor of his father.
During the Lovers Aloft balloon event in Lovelock, Nevada last year he proposed to his girlfriend Jordan and gained a lifelong crew chief and partner.
Alta Fernandes of Turlock brought her balloon, Summer Breeze to the Ceres event. She got into the hobby eight years ago when her husband suggested she “get a hobby.”
When she is not up in the air, Fernandes is a gemologist at her shop, Vail Creek Jewelry in Turlock.
