Labor Day Lift Off starts new era after death of longtime organizer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Banning Lewis Ranch hosted its annual "Aloft" event Thursday previewing the weekend's "Labor Day Lift Off" balloon show for the first time without lead organizer, Scott Appelman.

"Scott had a vision of what ballooning could be and how it could be presented to more of the public and brought it to life for so many more people," said Rainbow Ryders chief pilot Troy Bradley.

Appelman founded Rainbow Ryders and presided as its president for over 40 years until his unexpected death on Aug. 15, 2024. He was 66 years old.

"It's very hard to even see the places that we had eaten together, the places we had been doing events like this one. So, this is really the kickoff of his legacy and fulfilling what he wanted to do," Bradley said.

Bradley, a Colorado native whose grandparents flew in the first Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off, geared up with Rainbow Ryders and the other pilots to put on a short up-and-down flight display for the public at Vista Park in the Banning Lewis Ranch neighborhood. The weather had other ideas, with strong winds and batches of rain keeping the balloons grounded.

Regardless, Bradley said he soaked in the moment as he prepared for another successful Labor Day display.

"This whole event has a lot of lot of meaning for me, and we know he's watching over the top of us so that it'll all go well this weekend," Bradley said.

The Labor Day liftoff has both a morning and evening schedule from Memorial Park Aug. 31 and September 1 with balloon shows at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The final show is Monday morning Sept. 2 at 7 a.m.

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