Countywide : 80 Hot-Air Balloons to Fill the Skies Today

A dragon, a tiger, an alkaline battery and a soft drink can were among the shaped, hot-air balloons floating over Tustin Ranch Thursday morning as crews began arriving for the Smith’s Festival of Ballooning.

This family-oriented event, billed as the largest balloon festival west of New Mexico, is scheduled from noon today through Sunday evening at a 30-acre site bounded by Tustin Ranch Road, Jamboree Road and Portola Parkway. Major sponsors include Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and the Irvine Co.

In addition to mass balloon ascensions, there will be concerts by Randy Travis, the Beach Boys, America and various “oldies” groups, along with carnival rides, a petting zoo, arts and crafts, a POG tournament, a classic-car show and food booths. Each evening, there will be balloon “glows” in which tethered balloons are illuminated by bursts of internal flame.

About 80 balloons have been confirmed for the festival, with the largest one being a 35-stories-tall macaw from the Forbes Collection. Other shaped balloons scheduled to appear include a dinosaur, a stork, a cat, an elephant and a Turkish genie known as Suleyman the Magnificent.

Flying his “Apple” balloon over the festival site Thursday was professional pilot Bennett Schwontkowski, a 34-year-old Chicago resident who travels on an international ballooning circuit. Schwontkowski acknowledged that his first flight, at the age of 14, was a scary experience. But he went on to obtain a balloon pilot’s license and has now completed about 1,200 flights.

“I’ve seen it all,” he said, including occasions when people got engaged, married--and turned down for marriage--while floating high above the ground in a wicker basket. One time he landed unexpectedly in someone’s back yard and was invited in for a steak dinner.

“I think the neat thing is the reaction of people when you fly by,” Schwontkowski said. “Ballooning brings out the kid in anybody.”

Additional information on the festival is available by calling (714) 753-4680.