VOL. 127 NO. 5 THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2024 http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.comBATTLE CREEK
SHOPPER NEWS
See BALLOONS on 2Nation’s Top 10%
for Surgery!
Among the volunteers at the Love They Neighbor Food Pantry at 1349 E. Michigan Avenue in
Battle Creek are, from left, Nancy Dolphin, Sharon Johnson, Bob Merwin and Janet Kincaid.
(Shopper News photo by Shelly Kehrle-Sulser)New food pantry location holds grand opening
See stroy on page 546 hot-air balloons to
dot the skies over B.C.
This year, organizers say that 46 pilots are
on the roster, the most they have had in
several years.
The sky over Battle Creek is soon going
to be filled with beautiful colors.
The annual Battle Creek Field of Flight
Air Show & Balloon Festival from July
3-7 promises all kinds of flight from
military jets and aerobatics, to gliders and
even a human cannonball.
“One of the most anticipated parts of
the event, though, is the beautiful sight
of hot-air balloons filling the sky,” said
Bretten Bailey, media director. “There
is such a rich history of ballooning in
Battle Creek and Southwest Michigan.
Ballooning is basically a part of the iden-
tity of the area and we are proud to con-
tinue that tradition to this day.”
The first ever U.S. National Hot Air
Balloon Championship occurred in
Kalamazoo in 1963 under the Balloon
Federation of America.
Battle Creek is the only city in the
world to have hosted the World Hot Air
Balloon Championships four times, said
Bailey.
Battle Creek hosted it under the present
organization that hosts the Field of Flight
in 1981, 1985 and 1995.
The Worlds returned to Battle Creek in
2012 under Holiday Balloon Fest, Inc.