Raleigh's Crape Myrtle Festival

My pals Sean and Michael walking to the elegant Raleigh Convention Center. Is that a shimmery Crape Myrtle tree superimposed on the upper windows?

What is Crape Myrtle?

If you’re talking about the tree, it’s a dramatic one that grows throughout the south with ruffled flowers of pink and purple.

If you’re talking about the festival, it’s Raleigh’s annual fundraiser that takes place every summer concurrent with the Triangle Pride and Shades of Pride celebrations.

 The Raleigh hotties in attendance worked a mix of cocktail and casual looks. 

Over the past 30 years, the festival has raised tens of millions for North Carolina’s consenting sexual minorities and the HIV positive.

I attended the party last summer, when I visited my friend, politico Sean Kosofsky and his partner, Michael.

Anniversary cake realness

For just a couple bills, we were treated to hors d'oeuvres, slices of fanciful fondant cake, a drag show, fine art, and a silent auction.

 The ladies of "Legends," Raleigh's premiere drag show

Panels from the AIDS Quilt were on display especially for the 2010 event.

The 2011 gala’s theme is “Heroes: There’s One in Each of Us.” Hopefully, this will inspire some cosplay: Raleigh has some hunky mens!

You can purchase tickets here or at the July 30th event, which takes place at the Raleigh's Contemporary Art Museum.

Fort Collins Hot Air Balloon Adventure

A view of the Rockies from the Flights of Fancy basket

The ideal way to see the Rocky Mountains is from the air…preferably the hot air!

My day with Flights of Fancy begins at 5 am. I help owner Pam Fancy hook the balloon trailer up to her truck and drive to the launch site. The field, just East of Ft. Collins, Colorado faces a school and is dotted with prairie dog holes and brush.

Fancy boosting her flying machine with a shot of propane flame.

My job is to unpack the balloon, a silky funnel of motley panels, and then affix the vented dome, one Velcro tab at a time. Fancy and her assistant Curt lace it to the basket and load in the propane tanks.

Three in the basket, ready to ride!

A father/daughter couple from Oklahoma will join Pam and me in the basket. Curt will drive the truck and follow us from the ground.

Fancy has logged hundreds of hot air hours and flown in many of the top races and rendezvous in the West. Her knowledge of the Colorado Front Range is superb. She names many of the structures, mountains, and remote towns.

Our reflection upon the water. 

We glide over a fog hazed lake and catch the reflection of the balloon in the water. Fancy asks us if how high we’d like to go up. We want to go up all the way!

The high altitude makes me dizzy. Even though I grew up in Northern Colorado, I’m very susceptible to a head rush now. My lungs burn when I run here and I can’t ever seem to drink enough water.  Giddy breathlessness, however, seems ideal at 5000 feet.

A soft landing

We touch down after a half hour, in a nearby field. I asked Fancy if she ever has difficulty accessing landing sites. She said once an elderly man promised her she could land in his field and then forgot, but mostly people are glad to see her.

After all, a hot air balloon is like a giant invitation to party. 

We all got certificates to celebrate our achievement!

Once we’ve landed, Fancy breaks out champagne, mineral water, and pomegranate juice and we toast.

 Cheers!

I can’t wait to go up up and away again!