You may have noticed a few identifiable flying objects in the skies over Dutchess County on Aug. 29 through Aug. 31. The annual Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival at Tymor Park brought out droves of visitors looking to experience what life above the clouds is truly like.
Colorful hot-air balloons dotted a clear blue sky as festivalgoers enjoyed the scenery from the sky, and grass below.
Check out scenes from the event in the photo gallery below.
About the Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Union Vale
This year marked the 34th year for the annual Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival. Presented by JP Morgan Chase, the festival featured tethered hot-air balloon rides, full hot-air balloon flights, morning yoga, fireworks, live music and entertainment, food trucks, a beer and wine tent, local vendors and many other family activities.
Each balloon, and its pilot, has its own story. Read more about them at dcrcoc.org/balloonfesthv-org/about.
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The world’s first hot-air balloon flight ride was taken by farm animals
According to the Balloon Museum website, the first hot-air balloon took flight on Sept. 19, 1783, launched by French scientist Pilatre De Rozier. The balloon, named “Aerostat Reveillon,” carried a rooster, duck and sheep, and was only in the air for 15 minutes.
Hot air ballooning made its way to North America 10 years later, after Jean Pierre Blanchard became the first person to fly a hot-air balloon over the continent, with U.S. founding father and first president George Washington watching the launch.
Hot-air ballooning became all but a lost art (and was nearly replaced by a different method called gas ballooning) for the next 150 years, the Balloon Museum website says, until enthusiast Ed Yost developed a fueling system for hot-air-driven balloons that was more maneuverable and allowed for longer flights in the 1950s.
Yost launched the first modern hot-air balloon flight in Nebraska on Oct. 22, 1960, staying airborne for 1 hour and 35 minutes, changing the hot-air balloon world forever.
Contributing: lohud’s Frank Becerra Jr.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: See scenes from the Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival, and learn history of the art
Reporting by Staff Reports / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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