SEQUIM — Three balloons shaped like bumblebees are expected to fly onto the North Olympic Peninsula today for this weekend’s Sequim Balloon Festival.
The three “Little Bees” — Joey, Lilly and Joelly — are 50-foot-tall balloons with smiling faces, arms and even eyelashes.
They are piloted by Bob Romaneschi, Mark Schilling and Michael Glen.
The Labor Day weekend events will be launched very early Saturday, Sunday and Monday when the Little Bee balloons fly with other balloons at 6 a.m. — weather permitting — from the Sequim Valley Airport, 468 Dorothy Hunt Lane.
The rides cost $250, and the quickest way to sign up on the list of reserved balloon rides is to email hazel@brokersgroup.com.
Registration also can be made at www.sequimballoonfestival.com.
Will begin Saturday
The three-day Sequim Balloon Festival will begin Saturday at Grant Field at 792 W. Sequim Bay Road.
The site is across the street from Black Bear Diner and Holiday Inn Express.
Tickets are $19 per day or $29 for a three-day pass; children 11 and younger can enjoy the events free, provided they are accompanied by an adult ticket holder.
There will be much more than hot-air balloons.
There will be the Artists of Elegance arts and crafts showcase, children’s entertainment, the “Hot Gas & Gears” car display, live music by 17 bands and three street dances.
At sunset Saturday and Sunday, a line of balloons will create a Balloon Night Glow beside the field’s reflecting pool on the Grant farm festival site.
Complete information is at www.sequimballoonfestival.com.
Romaneschi, an Everett native now living in Peoria, Ariz., is a pilot and the designer of the Little Bee balloons, two of which were launched in 2003.
“Instead of flying as solo balloons, we gave them hands that touch during launch to make them look like a balloon couple dancing, hugging and kissing,” he said.
“Ultimately, we planned to have a swarm of up to 10 bees,” he added.
“But we got too busy to build them.”
Launched in 2010
Baby Bee Joelly, a smaller version of the bee balloons, was launched in August 2010 after it was built in Romaneschi’s certified balloon maintenance and repair facility in Arizona.
Joelly pilot Glen was part of this effort, as were several members of the Romaneschi family.
Joelly has other distinctions.
The traditional balloon basket for passengers and pilot can be replaced by a “Dual Chariot” seat arrangement that allows Glen to move easily from his wheelchair to a balloon seat, which has space for one additional passenger.
At the age of 31, Glen became the first paraplegic hot-air balloon pilot in the world.
Two months after his 21st birthday, Glen was involved in a single-car rollover wreck that left him with a spinal cord injury, paralyzed from the waist down.
“I made my decision to get out and live life as fully as possible and have fun,” he said.
Today, he shares his experiences through motivational talks and has been selected as an ambassador for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
Schilling, pilot of the Joey balloon, started his ballooning career after receiving a ride as a gift from his wife, Jan.
He has been a commercial balloon pilot for 26 years, flying conventional balloons, special shapes and experimental aircraft.
A resident of Cambridge, Va., he is a past president of the Great Eastern Balloon Association and a frequent presenter at balloon safety seminars on the East Coast.
Concert Friday
A pre-festival concert by Rare Earth will be at 7 p.m. Friday at Grant Field on Friday.
The Fabulous Johnsons will open the concert, and Lee Oskar from the rock-funk band War is scheduled to arrive by hot-air balloon.
Rare Earth, with hits like “I Just Want to Celebrate,” “Get Ready,” “Hey Big Brother,” and “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” has played more than 3,000 concerts.
Tickets to the Rare Earth show, sold separately from the festival passes, are $25 for general admission, $10 for youths ages 7 to 14, and free for children 6 and younger.
General admission seating will be festival style (bring your own chairs or blankets).
A limited number of reserved seats are available for $40 each. Ticket outlets include 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn and www.BrownPaperTickets.com.
Tickets will also be available at the gate.
