CENTRALIA — The 2019 Balloon Fest is pleased to welcome a new special shape to the 30th annual event.
Owlbert Eyenstein will make its first appearance at Balloon Fest August 16-17-18 in Foundation Park. Owlbert is sponsored by Kaskaskia College, a Major Sponsor of Balloon Fest.
Owlbert stands 100-feet tall and was created in Brazil. He first started traveling with Gary and his wife Diana in October of 2015 and his first event was at Albuquerque, New Mexico.
So far, he has flown in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, The Philippines, U.K., Netherlands, Germany and Italy.
Balloon Pilot Gary Moore and his crew chief wife Diana have been ballooning for 28 years, starting out in the Central Illinois area where they met in a field where two different balloons had to be carried out over a fence.
Gary was flying one and Diana was chasing for another pilot. They have operated two different corporate programs, including the Tony the Tiger balloon for the Kellogg’s company that has appeared at the Centralia event several times.