Balloonomania their ballooning stunts, with Blanchard and his companion Dr. John Jeffries being the first to cross the English channel in a balloon on January 7, 1785. The public reaction among intellectuals and academics was generally cooler, with some critics of balloonomania including the likes of Sir Joseph Banks and Samuel Johnson, who wrote in a 1783 letter to Hester Thrale, who had inquired about the nature of hot air balloons, “Happy are you, Madam, that have ease and leisure to want intelligence of air balloons. Their existence is, I believe, indubitable, but I know not that they can possibly be
London International Hot Air Balloon Festival London International Hot Air Balloon Festival The London Hot-Air Balloon Festival (London Balloon Festival) was an annual hot-air balloon festival held in London, Ontario, Canada. The festival, which was held for the first time in 1984 and originally called the London Balloon "Fiesta", used to take place in Harris Park at the forks of the Thames River during Simcoe Day (first Monday in August) weekend. The sponsor of the festival was Sundance Balloons. Spectators could get very close to the balloons, as there was no fixed barricades separating the launch area. Several special-shaped balloons regularly attended, including the Canadian Flag,