Hot air balloon fiesta fills New Clark City with love

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LIGHTER THAN AIR CHARACTERS: Finley the Turtle from the UK, Boo from the USA, Master Zaba from the UK, the Walrus from Brazil, and the Gnome from Macedonia. — CRECENCIO CRUZ

LIGHTER THAN AIR CHARACTERS: The 62-foot tall Yoda balloon piloted by Benoit Lambert from Belgium. — CRECENCIO CRUZ

LIGHTER THAN AIR CHARACTERS: The 77-foot tall Te Amo balloon, piloted by Tamie Orr from the USA. — CRECENCIO CRUZ

CRECENCIO CRUZ

CRECENCIO CRUZ

THE 26^th edition of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) filled the air in New Clark City with love, as 22 special-shaped balloons covered the sky with nothing but color and fun over the Valentine’s weekend.

There were sunrise balloon ascents, night glows, paragliding exhibitions, and paper plane competitions, among others.

“When we first started the fiesta in Clark, Clark was known for being the US base, but now, when you take a look at the advertisements, they use a hot air balloon as their logo,” PIHABF Foundation Inc. Founder and Event Director Joy Roa told reporters in a briefing. “It has been the attraction that they use to invite people to come over, and we hope we can help continue that and develop that into another New Clark City,” he added.

Founded in 1994, the balloon festival was a landmark attraction in Clark, Pampanga, for about 20 years.

In 2024, PIHABF found a new home in New Clark City, opening new opportunities for the airborne attraction.

“Of course, it’s a challenge. The staging [area] was made for running, soccer, and other sports,” Mr. Roa said. “What’s interesting and what’s challenging is that all of us made an effort to study how we can put things together and make the activity not only exciting but also safe,” he said. “It’s a learning process, I think we’ve refined from the first activity to this activity. We’ve refined a lot of aspects of the event,” he added.

The 22 balloons were flown by pilots from seven countries around the globe, including Macedonia, Brazil, and Switzerland.

“This is the first time that we are having 22 special-shaped balloons… So it’s really exciting,” BCDA Vice-President for Investment Promotions and Marketing Erwin Kenneth R. Peralta said in a briefing. “Other countries offer [hot air balloons], like Cappadocia in Turkey, but you still have to fly all the way there, which is very expensive… You have it here in Clark,” he added.

About 30,000 visitors, families, friends, and lovers gathered in Tarlac for the three-day event which ran from Feb. 13 to 15 to celebrate love while watching the vibrant balloons float in the air.

“Beyond the figures, what we witnessed was families spending a day of love and joy together. We saw balikbayans returning home, foreign visitors discovering New Clark City for the first time, and local communities proudly welcoming them. That is the kind of place we set out to build, one where infrastructure serves people and brings communities together,” BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua M. Bingcang was quoted as saying in a statement. — Almira Louise S. Martinez