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Dozens of hot-air balloons will fill the sky this weekend in Anthony. It's the main event for their Sunflower Balloon Fest.
People can actually pay to go up in the balloons, in fact, one of our photographers was able to go on a ride with the "Balloon Meister," that's German for balloon master.
There's only one weekend a year that things fall from the sky in Anthony, Kansas. “It's a big deal every year, everyone gets super excited about it,” said Holly Osborn.
“People wait for it all year long,” said Sheila Adams. It's an event that brings a lot of out-of-towners who are full of hot air. Really. Hot air.
“Just the inspiration of seeing something float across the sky, people get excited when they see the balloons rolling in,” said Balloon Meister Wil LaPointe.
For the last 15 years LaPointe has brought his balloons to Anothy's Annual Balloon Fest, an event so big the city advertises it on a beat up old Chevy van.
But what doesn't need advertising is the thrill of flying hundreds of feet above the Kansas fields.
“Ballooning is like nothing else you can do, you are literally floating above the earth,” said Balloonist Jim Copley.
The Balloon Meister flies his balloons all over the world but says Anthony's Balloon Fest is so special it brings him and his humming bird back every year.
“Anthony is ma and pa and I like that. I like entertaining the crowds and the kids,” LaPointe said.
Balloonists come from all over the United States to be a part of a tradition here they say is special.
“I came last year and fell in love with Anthony. These people are great, it makes me feel like I’m a part of a big family and we all go play in the clouds,” Copley said.
The view from those clouds so spectacular, people come from out of town and line up by the dozens to get a glimpse. A one of a kind, up in the air experience for a town that's just as unique as each balloon.