WAKE UP! ON ETBLITZ | Great Texas Balloon Race wards off the rain; Players of the Year announcement Sunday!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wake Up! is presented each day by Cozy Coffee Station, and you guys out in East Texas have two CCS locations to get to: one in Kilgore, at 110 Midtown Plaza, and one in Gilmer, at 755 Highway 271 North. Now, you may have to swim there, or get in a boat and paddle there, the way things have been going lately. But get there, because you’re going to love their products. See for yourself right here: Home | Cozy Coffee Station.
Great Texas Balloon Race
Speaking of the weather, you’ve gotta love these folks. Some of them live here in the East Texas region, and know our weather is somewhat psychotic. But some are only here for the Great Texas Balloon Race each year, and it does get crazy.
But we’re at the weekend, and this is when more of the public activities are scheduled. I know I’ve seen in several forecasts that we should be clear in the Kilgore-Longview area, for the most part, on Friday and Saturday before things get rolling again for five to six days.
Hopefully everyone can have some fun tonight and tomorrow night before we’re all doing our Noah impressions again early next week.
By the way, instead of East Texas, how does ‘Seattle South’ sound to everybody? Maybe I should change the name of the site to SSBlitz.
Nah.
Some need-to-knows on the race:
Some of the special-shaped balloons that kids love are going to be at these locations in Longview at 7 a.m. today, then again tomorrow (Saturday) at 7 a.m.: Ziggy the Raccoon will be at Eastman Credit Union at 3066 N. Eastman Road; Mr. Zebra will be at Foster Middle School at 1504 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; Annie the Ladybug will be at CHRISTUS Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute at 3313 Good Shepherd Way; the Fire Dog will be at the field behind the Longview Mall at 3500 McCann Road; and the Police Dog will be at the Whataburger location at 4108 Loop 281.
In addition, all model balloons will be at the mall this morning, and at the Longview Arboretum and Nature Center on Saturday morning.
Now, the actual night-time activities.
For the public, you’ll need to go to the Longview Convention Complex at 1123 Jaycee Drive.
Gates will open this afternoon at 4 p.m., and there’ll be a concert at 6:30.
You’re free to walk around and see the balloons and visit until 8:30, and that also includes the tethered balloon rides (those are $25 per person, and can only be cash payments).
Opening ceremonies are at 8:45 p.m., and then the Bill Bussey Balloon Glow starts just after that. Gates close up at midnight.
Everything begins again at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, and then the public activities at the same times, with the tethered rides also starting at 7, the balloon glow at 8:50, and gates closing at midnight.
Here’s a link to the Great Texas Balloon Race site, and you can purchase tickets to the concerts at the bottom of this page: Schedule of Events – The Great Texas Balloon Race
Tickets to get into the event, though, should be purchased at the gate, or right here at this link: Buy Tickets – The Great Texas Balloon Race. Tickets are $20 Friday night, $25 on Saturday night, or $40 for both nights. Kids 12 and under are admitted free.
For anything I haven’t answered, try this: Frequently Asked Questions – The Great Texas Balloon Race.
Rangers update
The Texas Rangers are on a roll.
And I’m not talking about arrests, actually. I’m talking about baseball!
The Rangers blasted Minnesota again, 16-3, on Thursday. Maybe the Minnesota air agrees with them.
Texas won two of their three games against the Twins this week, and while all three would’ve been better, they’re showing signs of life before the all-star break next month. They’re very much in the race for the American League West Division, as I said in Tuesday’s Wake Up! column. The Rangers are 33-36, and that’s 5 ½ behind the Houston Astros, who lead the AL West with a 38-30 mark.
Texas is home for a stand against the Chicago White Sox this weekend, and if you wanna go tonight, here’s a ticket link to Globe Life Park. Tonight’s game is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. first-pitch: Rangers Ticket Information | Texas Rangers.
Camp Central
More youth sports camps are upcoming soon, as this week’s are wrapping up. Parents, we have the need-to-knows here: CAMP CENTRAL, presented by ENERGY WELDFAB | Upcoming youth sports camps, updated June 12.
Don’t forget Sunday: Whataburger / ETB Players of the Year
Sunday is a huge announcement for us here on ETBlitz.com, as we unveil our Whataburger / ETBlitz.com boys and girls Players / Athletes of the Year award-winners from the 2024-25 school year.
We take this very seriously, as these nominees come from all different sports, not just football, or softball, or basketball. And one person didn’t choose these two young people: a panel votes on this.
I’ll have a time they’ll be released in tomorrow’s Wake Up!, and then on Sunday, they’ll hit the site at that time, and then follow on our socials. I don’t even know myself yet who the winners are – we’ll know tomorrow when the voting is complete.
Bowing out with a true rock classic
Sending you on your way this Friday with a true rock classic performance. This is a song called “Midnight Rider,” performed by the Allman Brothers. There are better recordings than this; I wanted to show you guys their performance. But I encourage you that are under the age of 30 to seek out this music that I put on here each week. These songs need to be heard, and stay alive for future generations like yours.