CLARK FREEPORT—At least 22 hot-air balloons made by nine countries will be seen at the 17th Philippine Hot Air Balloon Festival set from Feb. 9 to 12, 2012, at the Philippine Air Force’s ADAC hangar here.
In a statement, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) President and CEO Felipe Antonio Remollo said the event next year will “be bigger and better as more American balloonists have confirmed attendance.”
Joi Roa, president of the Hot Air Balloon, said that a kiwi-shaped balloon would be among the attractions of the festival dubbed as “the weekend of everything that flies.”
Roa disclosed that the balloonists will come from the US, the UK, Finland, Sweden, Amsterdam, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
The hot-air balloon festival is one of the major attractions in Clark. It is under the auspices of the Department of Tourism (DOT), said the CDC.
The event is expected to attract more than 100,000 spectators, added the state-owned corporation.
On Nov. 22 Remollo signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Foundation, led by Roa.
Remollo said the four-day balloon festival is expected to attract more visitors next year as the CDC hosts various sporting activities during weekends.
The hot-air balloon festival started in 1994 after Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991. The eruption for years destroyed several areas in Clark and Pampanga.
The CDC announced that other special air sporting activities are lined up for the event. They are sky diving-cum-flag-jump (pilot carries with him the Philippine Flag on the way down), ultra-light planes, aerobatic precision flying, light airplane rally, helicopter flight demo, hang gliding, remote controlled aeromodellers and kite flying.
The event is also being supported by the Angeles City Four Wheelers Club whose members have rescue operations, it was learned. Other partners of the CDC and the DOT are Air Ads, 600th Air Base Wing of the Philippine Air Force, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the United Parcel Service.
