Wind grounds balloons, but spirits stay high as balloon festival kicks off in Lewiston
LEWISTON — It wasn’t the result that Shawna Haley-Bear and Caleb Bear had hoped for.
The mother and son pair from Poland won tickets to the 6 a.m. balloon launch at the Lewiston-Auburn Balloon Festival, but high winds cancelled all balloon flights Friday morning.
Friday kicked off the 32nd Lewiston-Auburn Balloon Festival that runs until Sunday.
Haley-Bear entered a contest for the tickets through Dirigo Credit Union, the festival’s special shape balloon sponsor. The contest asked entrants a question: If you could create any shape balloon, what would it be?
Haley-Bear chose the “Hopeful” sign.
The view from inside the balloon: America One pilot Barry DiLibero inflates the balloon on Friday morning, Aug. 21, 2026 during the Lewiston-Auburn Balloon Festival in Simard-Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston. DiLibero also owns Flighthouse, the lighthouse balloon being shown at the festival, and is based out of Pennsylvania. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff Photographer)
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“There’s so much that’s good in Lewiston-Auburn that we don’t think about, so I feel like that sign makes me think about the good stuff. The stuff that unites us and makes us a community,” said Haley-Bear on Friday morning, who said she has attended the festival for years.
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This year’s special shape balloons are a lighthouse and a U.S. flag, shaped like a square.
The festival’s balloonmeister made the final call shortly before 6 a.m. Friday on whether balloons could go up; the winds were deemed too fierce to fly. Despite that, several balloon pilots inflated their balloons as hundreds of early-morning festivalgoers watched at Simard-Payne Memorial Park.
To test the winds at various elevations, a small balloon is released 500 feet in the air. By using technology connected to the balloon, the wind speed is measured.
Wind speed Friday morning measured at 20 mph. The ideal winds are around 5 to 8 mph, said Bruce Byberg, the balloonmeister.
“When the sun comes up and heats the earth, the lower winds mix with the higher winds, so that 20 miles per hour will come closer to the surface. We don’t want to land at 10-20 miles per hour,” said Byberg.
Beth and Joe Hamilton traveled from Florida to fly their balloon, named “Last One.”
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The couple of 55 years started piloting after Joe bought Beth a ride for her birthday.
Beth received her pilot’s license in California and Joe trained in Albuquerque. Both climates are more predictable for flying, in comparison to Maine, they said, but they’ve attended the Lewiston-Auburn festival since the very beginning.
When asked if after all their years ballooning, if they get upset when weather prevents them from flying.
“Hell yeah,” said Beth.
“But that’s the life of the balloonist. The weather. You learn early, you have to be patient.”
Festival organizers were hopeful the weather will clear for the night and weekend flights. Gray National Weather Service Meteorologist Greg Cornwell predicted Friday morning that Friday night will have similar wind conditions to the morning. This weekend, there’s potential for rain showers.
For more information on the festival and schedule, visit laballoonfest.org/festival/schedule.
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Tagged: auburn maine, lewiston maine, Lewiston-Auburn Balloon Festival
Emily Duggan is a staff writer for the Kennebec Journal. She graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire, where she was a news editor and staff writer for The New Hampshire. More by Emily Duggan
