Look to the Skies!

January. Meh. It’s a month that never quite lives up to the hype or the expectations of being the dawning of a new and exciting year. It’s a cold month. And February is cold too, so it’s not even like January leads into warm weather. The days are getting longer (I guess), but it’s still dark when I leave the house and dark when I get back home. So with all the doom and gloom I associate with this time of year, it was a decidedly bright spot to get the news that the Reno Air Races are back on for 2021. Yup, to paraphrase George Costanza, “They’re back, baby, they’re back!” Of course, this is pending pandemic restrictions, but the plan is for the event to pick back up and celebrate its 57^th year in mid-September, the 15^th through the 19^th, after having to cancel live activities for the 2020 year. Photo at left: Pixabay, Helga Kattinger.

The official name is the STIHL National Championship Air Races and Air Show, and it has its roots in the 1960s. Bill Stead started the event in 1964 in the tradition of the Cleveland Air Races from the 1920s through the ‘40s, and in addition to the familiar Stead name, its origins include some other prominent figures and organizations from Northern Nevada’s past. Harry Spencer (himself a major mover and shaker in the development of the Reno area) has written about how the Air Races back story also includes Charles Mapes of the Mapes Hotel, Senator Howard Cannon and Roy Powers of Harold’s Club. Spencer also notes something interesting that is new information to me, that the air base and airport that are called Stead are actually named after Bill’s younger brother, Croston, who was a pilot and was killed in an airplane crash there in 1949. Fast-forward to the present and the organization needed to raise some $500,000 to make up for the financial hit that resulted from the 2020 COVID cancellation. Although they didn’t quite make the entire half-mill, they came close enough to be able to plan on a resumption of activity this summer. If you want to help support the Save the Races campaign, the website for donations is at the organization's website. Photo at right: Pixabay, Sir Traffic.

Also up in the air for this year is the 40^th anniversary of the Great Reno Balloon Race. Well, I say "up in the air" because, you know, balloons and airplanes … but along with the Air Races, the Balloon Race is also on the calendar for 2021, set for September 10 through 12. This event started up in the early 1980s and over the years has garnered national attention for things such as the Darth Vader balloon, the Pajama Party and the Glow Show. The balloonists take off from Rancho San Rafael Park and can be seen from just about anyplace throughout the Truckee Meadows. (Insider tip: If you don’t mind being a ways out from the action, the view of the balloons rising over the valley as seen from a vantage point at the south end of the valley – Mt. Rose Highway or up on Gieger Grade – is pretty spectacular.) The balloon race is touted as the world’s largest free hot-air ballooning event and has been named Best Special Event both in Reno and in Northern Nevada. The 2020 iteration was a victim of the pandemic, but for now organizers have it scheduled for the summer. Updates and more information are available at their website. Photo at left: Pixabay.

To use yet another aeronautical turn of phrase, here’s hoping that the trial balloons sent up by the local organizations, that is, the scheduling of their events for the summer in anticipation that the pandemic will be over (or at least fading), are just the beginning of life getting back to the point where we can enjoy all the activities that have become family traditions in Northern Nevada.