Description

What is a KONGREGATION of balloons? It has been many years since Goldendale saw many balloons in town. The Goldendale area was the location of a balloon and skydiver event hosted by Bob Gilmore and his wife Terese back in 1998. There were other years Bob worked to invite balloonists to come fly Goldendale as well. Being both a balloon pilot and a sky diver, he also encouraged divers to come and experience jumping in Goldendale. Since Bob’s passing several years ago there has been no balloon activity in the Goldendale area. In 2021 the Northwest lost a balloonist who had been instrumental in balloon operations doing repair, commercial balloon flying, teaching, and sharing ballooning with as many people as possible. He hailed from Walla Walla, and was affectionately known as KONG due to his being big in stature. He was also big at heart and a big part of the balloon community across the country. As such, balloonists from around the country come to Kongregation each year to honor his memory and participate in a memorial flight. Kong’s partners, Vic and Mandy Johnson, hosted the first ‘Kongregation of Balloons’ in Prosser, WA in 2022; Kong’s brother and balloonist Scott Shields hosted the gathering in Ferndale, WA in 2023; and Tyler Adams joined the Johnson’s in hosting the 3rd Kongregation of balloons in Pendleton, OR. This year lifetime balloonist Mark Yonker joins the Johnson’s to bring the Kongregation to Goldendale for the 4th event since Kong’s passing. Some balloonists will be coming a day earlier, and you may see a few balloons on Friday September 12th with the multitude of balloons flying the 13th and 14th, weather permitting of course. Kong had often talked with members of the balloon community about creating a yearly event, rotating to areas in the Northwest that used to hold balloon events but are no longer doing so for some reason, places that balloonists love so much they’d like to go there more than once a year, and even some areas that balloonists had always wanted to fly but had not yet done so. In seeing through his vision, the Kongregation of Balloons is coming to Goldendale WA - one of the places Kong had wanted to fly. We will also honor the memory of Bob Gilmore and his efforts to host balloons in the area. Future years will continue to rotate to other locations. 

Balloons will be out early and launching near sunrise, possibly as early as 6:45 AM, coming into land between 7:45 – 9 AM. For those who have fields that appear balloon friendly from the air, you may hear an early knock on your door by a balloonist or their crew looking for permission to land. Balloonists are being asked to be respectful and will do their best to stay clear of livestock and out of planted fields wherever possible. Being unable to steer with anything but the wind, some less than ideal landings can happen. Every effort will be made to share information on areas that have expressed an interest for balloons to stay away. You may also hear the familiar ‘whoosh’ of the balloon as it flies over head. Expectations are for approximately 10 balloons and that number could vary due to numerous reasons including gas prices and expected weather. Some pilots will be doubling up and flying together in one balloon instead of both flying separately. Mark Yonker has a long history creating fun competitions for balloonists both in the air (finding targets and trying to fly over to score by dropping a bean bag close to a fabric X on the ground), and on the ground with scavenger hunts to encourage balloonists to visit local hot spots and places of interest during their stay. I am sure Mark will have some fun ideas up his sleeve to add to the spirit of this year’s event.

If you hear the balloons, please come out and wave – it is always fun to say good morning as we fly over. You will also see them around town in their Kongregation Tshirts all weekend as many of their favorite places to eat and shop will be on the list for mid-day outings. If you would like to crew or have any questions regarding this event, please feel free to reach out to Mark Yonker at 253-670-8575 or Mandy Johnson at 253-709-8889, or email OhanaMaka@yahoo.com . Or look up the Kongregation of Balloons Facebook page. We will continue to Kongregate to commemorate a great spirit who did his part to help keep ballooning floating along for many years. Thank you Goldendale for being such a welcoming community that balloonists are excited to come and visit!