First hot air balloons lift off at the Great Prosser Balloon Rally. See them this weekend

As Ron Cassidy’s Owyhee Heights balloon takes flight, the gas jet roars, super heating the air inside.

The sound soon becomes an afterthought as the stunning sight of the Lower Yakima Valley’s rolling hills and farmland stretch out below the basket.

Cassidy is one of 19 pilots invited to showcase their balloons this weekend at the 35th Annual Great Prosser Balloon Rally .

Conditions were good Friday, though winds were aloft and forced pilots to watch for sudden changes in direction and higher speeds as they rose above the town and along the Yakima River.

Multiple black pibals — small helium-filled balloons used to assess wind speed and direction — were sent into the air just after sunrise at the Port of Benton’s Prosser Airport before the balloons took flight.

Event chairman Morgan Everett told the Herald that flying conditions are expected to be good again on Saturday and slightly worse Sunday.

Depending on the weather, the balloons launch each morning at sunrise about 6:45 to 7:30 a.m. That’s the ideal time for hot air balloon flights, when they have the combination of cold morning air and the hot air inflating the balloon.

About 600 people attended the first day’s events on Friday. Everett expects up to 3,000 on Saturday.

A look inside the basket

Cassidy and his wife Sue, of Homedale, Idaho, have been flying hot air balloons in the Northwest — and as far away as Switzerland — since 1989.

Ron, a retired engineer, also makes his own balloons and sells them to other balloonists.

Owyhee Heights is a balloon that Ron made for Sue. It’s aqua, green, yellow and white, designed in stripes and blocks.

On one side of the basket, the word “Experimental” is embroidered into the black leather. It marks that the balloon was handmade, not commercially manufactured.

Friday’s flight was a smooth one, drifting west of the Yakima River before landing in a farmer’s grass field.

Some balloons fly near the Prosser bridge, dropping down so that their baskets take a dip in the river, a signature move at the festival.

Ron decided not to take the plunge Friday because of the algae bloom in the water this week.

The Cassidys have three balloons they rotate to fly during the season, which typically runs May to October.

Ron said he takes up to 25 flights a year.

The volunteer crew for Owyhee Heights included a family of four from Walla Walla. Earl and Sonja Gooding, along with their two sons, Chip, 17, and Jaden, 14, assisted from liftoff to landing.

Earl and Sonja have served on balloon crews for 25 years.

The family previously volunteered to help Ron and Sue at the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede in May.

This was the family’s first time at the Prosser rally.

Event details

The event continues Saturday and Sunday at the Prosser Airport. Parking and admission to the rally are free all weekend. Paid balloon rides are not available.

Visitors are welcome to take photographs from a safe distance. Drones are prohibited around the airport.

At dusk on Saturday, the popular Night Glow Show is held at Art Fiker Stadium at Prosser High School. Balloons will be anchored, illuminated and synchronized to music. Gates open at 6 p.m. Admission is free for the show.

Other weekend events include the Harvest Festival , Caren Mercer-Andreasen Street Painting Festival in downtown Prosser and Saturday farmers market.

Visit prosserballoonrally.org for the full schedule.