With fans buzzing and flashes of fire, a rainbow of colors and designs unfolded Friday morning as the balloons for the 30th Great Mississippi River Balloon race came to life.

Because of the wind direction, lift off took place on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River at the Concordia Parish Airport.

I rode on pilot Kenny Jay’s Mai’Ken Memories,, a football-shaped, green, yellow and purple balloon whose shamrock Celtic knot became visible when inflated.

I was told the name comes from Kenny’s name combined with the name of his wife, Marianne Jay. Marianne worked as the head of the Mai’Ken chase crew, and followed in a van to help the balloon land.

The Missouri couple has gone to several competitions in the past, but Natchez’s balloon race is special.

“We always look forward to this more than any other event,” Marianne said.

Marianne said she isn’t sure if Natchez is her favorite because of its location, or if it’s the memory of Kenny proposing to her at the race in a balloon tethered by the river.

Back then, the two were part of a chase crew, but in 2011 they returned in a balloon of their own after Kenny got his pilot’s license.

Mai’Ken wasn’t competing Friday in the biathlon, but it is scheduled to compete today and Sunday, weather permitting.

“He always loves the competition,” Marianne said.

Marianne said she doesn’t ride with him during the competition because it gets intense.

Although Kenny is looking forward to the competition, he said he doesn’t see himself as being too competitive, and also loves different aspects of ballooning.

“I like the sport, I like the challenge, I like the scenery, people you meet,” Kenny said.

As the Mai’Ken continued to fill with hot air, Marianne and Owen Calkins moved the basket into position so Kenny and I could climb in. I’ve never been very graceful, so it wasn’t easy, but I managed with some help.

Kenny gave me a couple of safety tips and, almost without my noticing it, the balloon began to rise. It wasn’t until Calkins and Marianne let go of the basket that I realized what was happening.

After that, it was up and away.

The whole flight was very gentle. It didn’t seem fast, although Kenny said the balloon could rise 1,500 to 1,800 feet vertically in a minute.

“That’s why it’s called a racer,” Kenny said, referring to the balloon’s oblong shape, which allows it to ascend and descend quickly.

While the earth fell away and I admired the scenery, Kenny was hard at work maneuvering the balloon, making it go up and down as we travelled over Louisiana.

“You fly different altitudes to try and find the different directions and speeds, depending on where you want to go,” Kenny said.

And, while I took on the role of a passenger, Kenny also asked me to help keep any eye out for any obstacles we might encounter, such as power lines. Power lines can be tricky, because some are made from copper and turn green over time.

“When you’re in the air in the summer time, if that wire’s green, it blends in with the green grass,” Kenny said.

We passed over the tops of two sets of power lines as well as trees during the flight. Every now and then a burst of radio chatter would come in from other balloonists and the chase crew about wind currents and possible landing sites.

When we finally landed, we’d been up in the air for a while, but I still remembered Kenny’s safety tips about landing. I’d been cautioned to bend my knees and hold on with two hands to the handholds in the basket, but the jolt wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d feared.

After the flight, Calkins, Marianne and Kenny began letting the air out of the balloon and folding it up. Not wanting to feel like too much of a freeloader I pitched in, and discovered just how heavy all the balloon’s material was.

And yet, it packed up surprisingly small, allowing us to put it in the back of the van — at least until the next flight.

 

Leah Schwarting is a reporter for The Natchez Democrat