Welcome to the
University Motors Mountaineer
Balloon Festival Website
___________________________________________________________________________

The 2008 festival will be held October 2-5th at Mylan Park.

After several years of rain and cold, the festival got a weekend of beautiful weather! We were also able to get 5 out of the 6 launches up this year and got to witness the amazing John Ninomiya take flight. The Grand Champion of this year's festival was Brian Trapp and the winner of the Toyota Gold Purse race was his father, Don Trapp. Congratulations to both pilots!!

We would like to thank all of the pilots, crew, vendors, crafters, presenters, entertainers, volunteers and sponsors who participated in the event. Without you, the festival wouldn't happen and we appreciate your hard work and involvement this weekend. We hope that you'll all come back next year and bring with you the same perfect weather we had this year!

WCLG/WVAQ Night Glow a Success!
October 4, 2007

The FCX Systems/WVAQ Night Glow had a fantastic turnout this year!! Overall we had about 20 balloons for the glow and between 12,000-15,000 people in attendence! The NASCAR display , paintball and carnival were all busy and everyone had a really great time! If you missed the Night Glow on Thursday, be sure to make our second glow on Friday night! Night Glow II is brought to you by Waterfront Place Hotel.

Garfield's Race has Ideal Flying Weather!
Morning, October 5, 2007

This morning, early risers got to witness the spectacular Garfield's launch from the Morgantown Municipal Airport. The morning brought perfect flying weather and the balloons got a great flight out towards the University Farm and Cheat Lake. We hope that the view from around Morgantown was as amazing as it was at the airport! The next launch is the Sign Factory Race, taking off from Mylan Park around 4:30pm on Friday afternoon.

Lightning Halts Launch but Night Glow II Continues!
Evening, October 5th, 2007

Just prior to the Sign Factory Race, a bolt of lightning caused the launch to be cancelled. When flying balloons, it is always better to be safe then sorry when it comes to lightning. However, Night Glow II was still able to take place! Spectators got to watch as approximately 15 balloons inflated for the festival's second glow.

Saturday Brings Beautiful Weather, Two Successful
Launches and John Ninomiya's Flight
October 6th, 2007

Saturday at dawn, balloons graced the early morning skies for the MPE Rentals race and headed towards Cheat Lake. Later at the festival grounds, activities kicked off at noon and around 3pm the first Miss Balloon Festival Queen and Teen were crowned. Just prior to the The Pepsi-Cola Challenge, John Ninomiya took flight with 90 helium balloons strapped to his harness. Accompanied by the balloon Beez'nflowers, John floated through the sky for approximately 45 minutes before landing in the University Town Center. Soon after John left the ground, the other balloons launched for the Pepsi-Cola Challenge, giving shoppers at the Town Center more to see as several balloons followed John in landing there.

Beautiful Weather Continues for the Festival's Final Day
October 7, 2007

Amid the morning mist, balloons launched for the Glenmark Holdings Race and once again drifted off towards Cheat Lake. For many pilots this was their last race of the weekend, as they have to travel home, and it was also the last race of the festival Championship. The Grand Champion for this year is Brian Trapp! Sunday afternoon the balloonists and sponsors attended an awards banquet, provided by Oliverio's Ristorante, while the activites continued at the festival grounds. Around 4:30pm, fourteen pilots returned to the grounds for the Toyota Gold Purse Race. Don Trapp scored the closest to the target and was the winner of this race and the $1000 prize.