The fun flies and drives in for another year to the Olympic Peninsula Air Affaire and Sequim Valley Fly-In.

Organizers plan for another full day of festivities on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Sequim Valley Airport, 468 Dorothy Hunt Lane, with airplane, tethered balloon and helicopter rides along with cars and trucks, remote control planes, and more.

Entry costs $10 per carload with additional fees for various rides from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Emily Westcott, co-organizer/founder, said last year’s event saw at least 2,500 attendees.

“It’s just a fun activity for the community, and it promotes aviation,” she said on the Air Affaire’s continued appeal.

Captain Crystal Stout, with the nonprofit Dream Catcher Balloon program, said the Air Affaire also highlights the importance of the airport.

“It’s a vital part of the whole area, and [the Air Affaire] showcases it,” she said. “All kinds of people use it. The Coast Guard uses it. Life Flight uses it. It’s really important.”

Andy Sallee, the airport’s manager and president, listed the airport for sale in 2020 along with his wife and 26 other shareholders as he looks to retire. His family founded the airport 35-plus years ago.

The Air Affaire started in 2013 as a joint celebration for the City of Sequim’s centennial and the airport’s 30th anniversary.

For Saturday, Westcott anticipates about 50 airplanes flying in for the event, and about 50 vehicles registering for the car show. R/C airplane pilots return to fly for spectators with donations accepted to support Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.

Wing walkers Mike and Marilyn Mason of The West Coast Spin Doctors return, and plane formation fly-bys are anticipated, too, Westcott said.

Both pilot Keith Kossuth with his 1929 Travel Air Plane and Seattle Air Taxi’s helicopter offer rides (fees apply).

There will also be live music, food and vendors available throughout the event.

For more information, visit olympicpeninsulaairaffaire.com.

Tethered balloon rides

Stout plans to offer hot air balloon tethered rides in her Morning Star Balloon Co. basket. The $25 fee per person helps the nonprofit offer tethered rides to veterans, senior citizens, mobility impaired individuals, and more.

“It’s ballooning for all,” she said of the Dream Catcher Balloon Program. “It has blossomed over and over.”

As she focuses more on expanding the nonprofit, the Air Affaire is a last hurrah for the Morning Star balloon in Sequim. She sold the balloon to a Spokane couple with its last event slated for Peninsula College in October.

“We’re no longer doing rides (across the area as) there are too many buildings, so the landing space is going away,” Stout said. “There’s a lot of growth in the area, but we’ve got other things we can do with balloons.”

Tethered basket rides begin in the Morning Star balloon at 9 a.m. and continue through the day, depending on weather.

Once the balloon is done, Stout will bring out another to place on its side so people can play inside with beach balls.

As for Dream Catcher, Stout and her team went to four states — Kansas, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming — giving rides to an array of people, including a 100-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man with cerebral palsy.

Between trips, the Dream Catcher balloon can be spotted on a tether at the airport on weekends. For more information, visit dreamcatcherballoon.org.

Olympic Peninsula Air Affaire and Sequim Valley Fly-In

When: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27

Where: Sequim Valley Airport, 468 Dorothy Hunt Lane

Admission is $10 per carload, fees apply to various rides; car show entries are $5 per vehicle

More info, registration: olympicpeninsulaairaffaire.com

Photo courtesy Captain Crystal Stout Morning Star Balloon Co. makes one last stop in Sequim on Aug. 27 for the Olympic Peninsula Air Affaire. Captain Crystal Stout sold the Morning Star balloon to a Spokane couple in order to focus on Dream Catcher.

Sequim Gazette file photo by Matthew Nash Remote control airplane pilots return to Sequim Valley Airport on Aug. 27 to fly their various models with donations accepted to support Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.