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Remembering Freedom Weekend Aloft

The iconic hot air balloon festival attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators over the years for an Independence Day Celebration.

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“The small child in the picture was our oldest son, born in 1982 after the first festival.” | Photo by April Long

As we look to the skies for fireworks displays, we wanted to look back on the days when Greenville’s Independence Day skies were dotted with hot air balloons for Freedom Weekend Aloft. Launched in 1982, the festival quickly became one of the nation’s biggest balloon events before shutting down, for good, in 2014.

Your stories — from family memories to emergency landings — remind us just how legendary it was.

A founding family

“My father, Doug Smith, was one of the organizers, and it was his idea to bring this to the Upstate,” GVLtoday reader April L. tells us. “He had been to the balloon festival in Albuquerque, and thought, ‘Why not Greenville?’”

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That’s one whopping Whopper. | Photo by April Long

Special-shaped balloons

“Having the hot air balloons fly across town was such a delight,” reader Kathy C. recalled. “Especially fun were the special-shaped balloons — like Noah’s Ark — that flew with such awe and joy.”

Emergency landing

“A balloon had to make an emergency landing and saw that we had enough of a clearing, so they landed in our front yard,” reader Lauren P., who was in about second grade, remembered from the early 1990s. “ Everyone was okay, thankfully, and they taught me all about how the balloon worked. They even staked it to the ground to let my parents and me take a ‘ride’ in it. I felt like a celebrity in our own yard!”

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Views from the 1990 event. | Photo by the Greenville News via newspapers.com

Welcome to Greenville

“In 1990, my husband, 5-year-old son, and I had just moved to Greenville from Greensboro, NC. Like most people, I was ambivalent about the move. We were coming home from dinner when one of the balloons started flying low, anticipating landing. It flew alongside our car, so we decided to follow it to its landing spot. After it landed, we got out to take a closer look. Somehow, the balloon landing helped me make peace with living here. Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” — Karen P.

More reader remarks

When we asked you about Freedom Weekend Aloft, our inbox filled up with calls to “bring it back!”

  • “We were so sad when Freedom Weekend Aloft left Greenville. We took our first child to the very first one — it was so amazing.” — Terry H.
  • “It was exciting to see all of the balloons. Music was good, I saw the Commodores one year.” — Linda R.
  • “We moved here in 1996. We l-o-v-e-d the Balloon Rally!” — Patty B.
  • “One of my favorite events. So sad it is gone.” — Dana E.

Share your own memories and photos with us, and let us know below if you wish this event would make a return.

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