The Great Reno Balloon Race is back this year, and and organizers are planning for big crowds at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park.
"As a free event for this community, we always expect big crowds because it's so beloved," said Executive Director Pete Copeland. "It's really a fun event and the fact you can do it free is so special."
Some of the fan favorites will be back, along with some new special shapes for the fans.
"We've got the Glow Show, we've got Friday Dawn Patrol again, we'll have our Super Slow on Friday," Copeland said. "On Thursday for the media event, there will be a special flight with our special shaped balloons, so all four days of the event are really fun for the fans."
The event was canceled last year but they still managed to put a few balloons up to commemorate the 39th year of the race, and start preparing for this years celebration, four decades in the making.
"It's been a very challenging year and a half of keeping the event alive," Copeland said. "We had no revenue last year, we've had to make some really tough cuts but that said, we're going to come out of this situation stronger. The event will be better and I think our fans will see that this year. We're really excited to bring back something very special."
