After flying at Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta for a week, Puddles has now arrived in Natchez and joined 60 balloons for the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race.

Puddles flew in the press flight early on Friday morning and then took centre stage for the evening night glow, held in the main festival site. Puddles has been a big hit in Natchez, with the preschoolers at Adams County Christian School choosing him as their favourite balloon of the competition!

 

 

 

 

Competition flights are held on Saturday morning and evening and Sunday morning, with a particularly special target on the Saturday evening. Known as the ‘Barge Drop’, a small barge is anchored in the middle of the famous mile wide Mississippi River and pilots are tasked with flying in and dropping a marker on the barge. This has not been used for the last five years, although the last winner was in fact Puddle’s pilot (or Zookeeper as he is known to the crew) Andrew Holly.