Hot-air balloon fiesta soars over Angeles
By JONATHAN VICENTE, The Manila Times Reporter
Crowds are expected to gather below the skies of Angeles, Pampanga to witness the colorful 10th Philippine International Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta at the Omni Aviation Complex in Clark Field.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano said that a crowd of 60,000 people, including foreigners, already showed up early Thursday morning to watch the opening of the four-day event that runs until Sunday.
Twenty-four multicolored hot-air balloons dominated Clark’s skyline with balloonists from Finland, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, Durano said.
"Thousands came to see this year’s event. The show gets better each year, the crowd grows bigger, especially now that we have international direct flights to Clark," he added.
More than 30 foreign pilots are participating in the air sport competitions.
There will be ultra-light flying, light airplane rally, helicopter flight demos, aerobatic precision flying, hang gliding, skydiving, and airplane modeling.
The balloon fiesta was organized in 1994 by former tourism secretary Mina Gabor, three years following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, to help revive the economy in Central Luzon.
The festival is a joint project of the tourism department, Hot-Air Balloon Club of the Philippines, Clark Development Corp., 600th Air Base Wing, Angeles City Four Wheelers Club and Air Transportation Office.
Guests who want to witness the balloons take flight must be at the site at exactly 5 a.m., Durano said
Crowds are expected to gather below the skies of Angeles, Pampanga to witness the colorful 10th Philippine International Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta at the Omni Aviation Complex in Clark Field.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano said that a crowd of 60,000 people, including foreigners, already showed up early Thursday morning to watch the opening of the four-day event that runs until Sunday.
Twenty-four multicolored hot-air balloons dominated Clark’s skyline with balloonists from Finland, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, Durano said.
"Thousands came to see this year’s event. The show gets better each year, the crowd grows bigger, especially now that we have international direct flights to Clark," he added.
More than 30 foreign pilots are participating in the air sport competitions.
There will be ultra-light flying, light airplane rally, helicopter flight demos, aerobatic precision flying, hang gliding, skydiving, and airplane modeling.
The balloon fiesta was organized in 1994 by former tourism secretary Mina Gabor, three years following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, to help revive the economy in Central Luzon.
The festival is a joint project of the tourism department, Hot-Air Balloon Club of the Philippines, Clark Development Corp., 600th Air Base Wing, Angeles City Four Wheelers Club and Air Transportation Office.
Guests who want to witness the balloons take flight must be at the site at exactly 5 a.m., Durano said
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