MERIDIAN, Idaho — The weather did not cooperate for the first ever Dairy Glow Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Launch, but the pilots were able to inflate their balloons and the people still enjoyed this event at Dairy Days.
"What is there not to love? It is amazing. They are massive, they are beautiful, and the colors are pretty impressive," said Marllin Grajeza of Meridian who brought her family down and some of them were visiting from out of state. "I wanted to show them the beauty of Meridian and Dairy Days."
Check out the video to learn more about a local crew and their unique balloon.
Angela and Greg Ashton of Meridian organized this event, as ten different balloons were inflated before the sun came up on Saturday. The Ashtons have the perfect balloon for Dairy Days, a black sheep named Monty.
"The deal behind Monty is the very first hot air balloon that went up was a black sheep, a duck, and a rooster," said Angela. "The sheep was a pet, his name was Monticello, so we shortened it to Monty."
It was a neat experience to see the crew wheel out this 500-pound balloon and inflate Monty. It takes six people to get the job done, and Angela enjoys doing this because it is all about family.
"It is a very family-oriented sport," said Angela. "Our kids grew up in this sport, our son can fly, our grandkids are here running around, and they want to learn to fly. It goes generational."
The weather was too windy to get the balloons off the ground, but Angela, who teaches middle school in Meridian, told us she is proud to bring this event to Dairy Days.
"This is home, I love our community," said Angela. "We are a close community, and we are hoping this just brings more people in to show them what we have at Dairy Days. It is just a great family place to come, Meridian is family."
If you missed the sunrise event, the balloons will inflate again after the races at the Meridian Speedway on Saturday night. They expect that to be around 9:00 p.m. It will be a night glow and a unique way to cap off Dairy Days.
