Helen to the Atlantic balloon race completes 49th year

Mark Meyer won the 49th annual Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race last week, and the festival associated with the annual event once again proved to be a huge success.

“For the last 49 years, we have enjoyed watching the beautiful hot air balloons over Helen and White County, said Jerry Brown, Executive Director of the Alpine Helen/White County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“The county enjoys thousands of visitors that make the trip to the mountains to see the balloons in flight,” Brown said. “Most visitors don’t realize that the event is a race to the Atlantic Ocean, but to their benefit, not all pilots enter their balloons in the race. They stay in the area, as do our visitors.”

The race begins in Helen and the finish line is I-95. The shortest distance is 225 miles and the race usually 

takes two days, but pilots are at the mercy of prevailing winds which always add and extra layer of uncertainty to the event.

The Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race is the oldest ballooning event in the South, and the only long-distance balloon race in the United States.

“We are looking forward to next year’s 50th anniversary ballon race to the Atlantic, and pray for good weather and a great turnout of ballooners.”