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SUSSEX - Pilot Doug Shippee is the man who introduced Sussex to the sport of hot air ballooning.
The Pink
Elephant, The Cow,
The Dragon, The Mountie, The Yellow
Pages Directory, The
Monster Truck, The
Maple Leaf, The
Canada Flag, The
Hawaiian Tropics
Fish, Tony the
Tiger, The Cow,
Green Dragon and The
Purple People Eater, Tree Bird, Octopus, have all flown our
skies!
The Atlantic International Balloon Fiesta Committee, 100's of volunteers with the support of the community at large, combined with the business community, corporate sponsors and various organizations, work year round making this event possible.
Sussex is the proud home of a hot air ballooning record. On Sept. 26, 2003, David Hempleman Adams took off from the town for the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean in an open balloon. He and his Rozière balloon safely landed in Blackpool, England, 83 hours after he left Canadian shores.
White sheets are placed upon Farmer's Fields to welcome Balloonists. Last year, several homes and businesses in the Sussex area took this idea to the next plateau and decorated their homes and businesses with white lights. This showed that not only farmers welcome the Balloons to the Atlantic International Balloon Fiesta. This year, The Atlantic International Balloon Fiesta Committee is asking all residents and businesses in the Sussex area to dig out their white Christmas Lights and decorate! You can decorate the tree in your front yard, your house or your business windows! Just imagine how welcoming Sussex will look to Balloonists and travelers alike! The hot air balloons that come to Sussex come from all over the world, so lets all get together and show how much The Atlantic International Balloon Fiesta means to Sussex.
Landowners and Residents in Sussex and surrounding area! Flights will be launched when weather permits and balloons will be landing in the surrounding area. Launch times are approximately 6:30a.m. & 6p.m. Register at the information booth at least 1 hour prior to launch time(s). If you would like a balloonist to land in your yard or field please mark it with a large white sheet or X in the open area. A red flag, sheet or X should be used to designate restricted landing areas.
A Toast to the Landowners - "A Balloonist’s Friend"
Ballooning
is called
THE CHAMPAGNE
SPORT, a
tradition that spans
two centuries. On
August 27th, 1783,
Professor J.A.C.
Charles launched the
first hydrogen gas
balloon before a
crowd in Paris.
Deemed a success,
the unmanned 12-foot
diameter sphere rose
into the sky and
floated out of
sight.
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In 1985, several people in the local area were presented an
opportunity to extend the local tourist season, by hosting a Hot Air Balloon
Event. As local pilots knew of the great flying in the Sussex Area it was
suggested that the Sussex Balloon Festival Inc. be started. Balloonists
were invited to the area for a weekend, and although it was rather informal, it
was to become the first annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.
A Craft
Fair was added
eventually and
proved to be a
tremendous success!
The Craft Fair
features all hand
made crafts and runs
the entire weekend.
The Craft Fair
currently boasts
over seventy
crafters from all
over Atlantic
Canada. In 1990 an
Antique & Classic
Car Show & Shine was
added to the growing
list of activities
during the Atlantic
Balloon Fiesta
weekend. This car
show features
antiques, street
rods, bikes and
trucks. It currently
has over five hundred
cars. The Bandstand features three days of continuous live entertainment.
Lots for the whole family to do.
White
Light Tradition
Fearing
for their lives, the
villagers quickly
summoned the parish
priest to dispatch
the demon. When this
formula failed to
work, they took
matters into their
own hands and
attacked the
monster!