DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997              TAG: 9704100060

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   62 lines

SUFFOLK RISES TO THE OCCASSION WITH PLANS FOR BIG BALLOON RALLY

HEY, THERE'S more than peanuts to celebrate in Suffolk, you know.

The promoters of this weekend's inaugural Spring Spectacular and Balloon Fest also want you to know that Suffolk's ideal for just drifting over rich landscape.

``We're rural Suffolk, and we have gorgeous amounts of land - and serenity,'' said Wayne Smith, chairman of the three-day event Friday through Sunday.

So what better way to show off the flat patchwork of farm fields than from scores of hot-air balloons?

Organizers expect 40 of the brightly colored, warm-billowed behemoths to dot the horizon over Suffolk Municipal

Airport and its surrounds this weekend.

The event also will be a celebration of music, car and air shows, carnival, and mountains of home-cooking.

``It expresses everything that Suffolk is all about,'' Smith said.

Although better known for its autumnal celebrations of those crunchy subterranean legumes, it also happens that Virginia's largest city has a nice atmosphere and landscape for ballooning.

For a small fee, festival-goers can avail themselves of the winds with tethered balloon rides reaching an altitude of 100 feet.

And a seven-story-high, electric blue balloon with a handicap sign on the side will give free, tethered rides to adventurers in wheelchairs. Called Serena's Song, it is the only specially adapted and FAA-approved craft for carrying the handicapped.

Rene Meier, organizer of the balloon events, said the balloons will fire up their propane jets and gently lift off in unison from the airstrip Friday night. ``It will be a wonderful sight,'' Meier said.

Saturday at 8:30 p.m., the collection of balloons will again fire up their jets - and lights - in unison, brightly illuminating the orbs against the evening sky.

Weather permitting, balloon competitions and displays will continue throughout the weekend.

Balloonists pilot their aircraft by rising or lowering into gentle wind streams.

``When you take off, you don't know where you are going to land,'' said Meier, a veteran pilot who has floated over the Swiss Alps.

Looking for a faster pace? The aeronautics show will include World War II planes and the 49th Stealth fighter wing from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The festival will also feature an antique car show and displays by the Mustang Club of Tidewater.

On Sunday, country music star Tracy Lawrence will give a free concert at the main stage. Lawn chairs are optional; sing-alongs could become compulsory.

Smith, a 10-year veteran of the Peanut Fest, said planning for the balloon event began about 18 months ago.

The squadron of 40 hot-air balloons will make it one of the largest gatherings of its type in the Middle Atlantic states this year.

``It's just going to be awesome,'' Smith said. ILLUSTRATION: Color file photo

[Balloon] KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK HOT AIR BALLOON

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