More than ‘flyover country’: Nebraska towns use clear skies, wide-open spaces to haul in tourists
MITCHELL, Neb. (Flatwater Free Press) — The long flat shapes of hot air balloons lay stretched out on the field. As the sun starts to rise, the balloons rise too, blasts of air puffing them up from the ground. A swirl of blue and green and white starts to unfurl. Air breathes life into a balloon shaped like Humpty Dumpty, arms and legs pointing toward the gathering crowd. These rainbows of inflated fabric stand out against the dry brown grass, surrounded by the thousands of tourists who have descended on this small western Nebraska town to watch balloons float through the sky – and breathe valuable life into the county’s tourism industry, too. By 6:30 a.m., 67 hot air balloons fill the sky above Scotts Bluff County.
Locals and tourists look to the sky as hot air balloons float above Mitchell Airfield during the Old West Balloon Fest. The festival draws about 15,000 people to western Nebraska annually.
“It’s really great that small towns do these big things,” said Wendy Wickard, a resident of Bridgeport, about 45 miles away. “It’s how we can keep our little businesses open. And it is pretty here. No one would ever come here for no reason.” Nebraska has a lot stacked against it when it comes to attracting tourists. It’s too flat, and only filled with cornfields, outsiders say. It’s flyover country and nobody lives there. In an annual survey done by a global marketing agency, Nebraska ranked as the least-likely state for travelers to want to visit for five straight years ending in 2018. To fight that, Nebraska small towns have had to get creative, hosting events that can only happen with wide-open spaces and clear skies. Things like stargazing. Turning acres of land into sports complexes. And hosting hot air balloons.
For six days in August, an estimated 15,000 people flocked to Scotts Bluff County for the eighth annual Old West Balloon Fest. And for the past four years, the festival has hosted the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship, drawing in even more balloons and more people from across the country and Canada. County tourism officials have calculated that the national championship brings in $2.56 million each year – a big deal for communities whose largest industry after agriculture is tourism.
Scott Hughes/Flatwater Free Press
Hot air balloons fly above farmland in Scotts Bluff County. This year, visitors from at least 18 states and Canada came to the area for the Old West Balloon Fest.