Jupiter Flights bringing hot air balloon delights to Conner Prairie
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — Colorful hot air balloons will take over the skies this weekend in Hamilton County for Jupiter Flights at Conner Prairie.
Tickets to the paid and free events are sold out. This year’s edition will feature 40 different hot air balloon teams from across the country.
Conner Prairie Marketing Director Holly Pasquinelli says it’s exciting to see so much energy around the event.
“It’s fairly new, only been around for a few years,” Pasquinelli said. “We’re so excited to see everyone come out and to see the excitement building around Indiana’s largest hot air balloon festival.”
In the mornings, balloons will be taking off and taking part in competitions. Teams will try and throw a bean bag as close as they can to a target in a field within Conner Prairie.
After dark, festivalgoers will be able to get up close to the balloons and see them from the ground.
One pilot Andrew Brindley says the museum atmosphere sets his team up for a different environment.
“Hot air ballooning is this perfect balance between peacefulness and adventure,” Brindley said. “You add a little bit of competition to that…all the public can come and watch us compete. It’s usually something that happens in the middle of nowhere, but we are putting targets in the middle of the field and then the public can come and watch us.”
Another pilot, Brian Serge, is from central Indiana. He says the comradery in the ballooning community is unmatched.
“It’s pretty tight because there’s not in reality, there’s not that many of us,” Serge said. “Everybody knows about everybody. I know this person, that person knows that person, eventually, we know everybody the same way. We just help each other out.”
The festival will also have live music, bounce houses and a sneak peek of Conner Prairie’s nationally recognized Corn Maze.
Jupiter Flights runs from Friday to Sunday.