What to do when the Super Bowl threatens to pre-empt what's thought to be the largest winter balloon event in the Midwest?
Hold it a week earlier than usual and celebrate with a football theme, that's what.
"I'm taking for granted there's going to be lots of Vikings' stuff this year," said Evy Nerbonne, one of the original organizers of Hudson Hot Air Affair, now in its 29th year in the Wisconsin border town.
The event, to be held Jan. 26-28, has been christened "Touchdown Hudson XXIX" as a nod toward the big game on Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
Nerbonne said organizers plan to get the first football in the air: A hot-air balloon from Louisville, Ky., that resembles a pigksin and is often used to kick off football-themed costuming and activities.
She said that you won't see a football balloon at the Super Bowl. Mike Howard, spokesman for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, believes that's true.
"I can't say for certain, but I am not aware of any other events involving football-shaped balloons," he said.
The Hudson event attracts about 40 balloons that have flown before in temperatures down to 43 below zero, Nerbonne said. The perfect weather scenario this year, she said, would be 20 degrees above zero, with a wind not exceeding 5 mph and "clear blue skies."
"They're kind of an iconic symbol of Hudson, those hot air balloons," she said.
Hot-air ballooning in the St. Croix Valley has been popular for years because of the far-flung river vistas.
"Hot-air ballooning has been a sport in the Twin Cities and the St. Croix Valley for as long as it's existed," Nerbonne said, adding that its popularity became apparent in the 1960s. "The whole area is much more familiar with the sport of hot-air ballooning than other parts of the country. With the St. Croix River as a backdrop, it's just a much more beautiful place to balloon."
The Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau began the event as a winter festival. Known then as Cabin Fever Days, it had the dual purpose of giving residents something to do in the coldest stretch of winter and making a few bucks for local businesses on the side.
A few years after the event's inauguration, a nonprofit took it over in 1990 and renamed it. Nerbonne and three others involved from the beginning remain as volunteers, ensuring that the event stays true to its original purpose.
While the balloon launches on Saturday and Sunday offer a colorful show, as does the Friday night torchlight parade on 2nd Street in downtown Hudson, organizers say Hot Air Affair is more than just a spectator event.
The countdown begins Sunday, Jan. 7, in Stillwater, where hot air balloon burners will be turned on at the Lowell Park ice castle. The Snow Queen and her Royal Guard will be on hand from 3 to 6 p.m.
Several balloons entered in Hot Air Affair are sponsored to recognize cancer patients and survivors, Nerbonne said, and one balloon is for people with dementia. Activities also raise money for causes such as Hudson's food shelf.
"We've tried to provide opportunities for people, because life is a challenge," she said.
Information about other activities is available at www.HudsonHotAirAffair.com and the event's Facebook page.
The public can't ride in balloons during the festival, but they can take all the pictures they want. If weather permits, all participating balloons will take flight at the same time.
"They go where the air takes them," Nerbonne said.
Kevin Giles • 651-925-5037
