We were lucky enough via a contact we had made earlier in the year to get an invite to a local event in our hometown of Northampton.

The event in question was a remembrance for the great fire of Northampton which happened 350 years ago in 1675. The event was planned with a number of fire themed activities including an amazing, animated display, dancers dressed as flames and live music. However, it was missing one key ingredient, fire!

Initially and understandably the organisers were a little unsure of the logistics and risks but after a few conversations and the exchange of risk assessments we got the green light to do it. We agreed to come at no cost as we believe there is real value in supporting local events.

The day came around and Jamie, Liam M and Reanna headed to the Market Square in Northampton bright and early to setup. The plan for the day was to fire the burner throughout as a bit of a show piece for the people attending and allow people into the basket for photos and to learn a little about ballooning.

The forecast for the day was changeable with a high risk of showers, so we packed a few large brollies just in case.

As the day kicked off, we had a steady stream of interested people over for photos and to see the burners in action. As the day went on the number of people increased steadily to the point where we had a constant stream of families and groups coming over. The reception was really good, and everyone was having fun. We gave out lots of stickers to the kids (and some adults) and these went down well.

Throughout the day we also got to meet a number of Northampton’s leaders from various areas including the council, church, University and more. This was a good opportunity to network and share ideas for events and other projects for the future.

We also got a small feature on ITV News, a nice interview for NLive Radio and a feature on a TikTok influencers story.

More importantly though than any form of exposure we got to meet a representative from The Brotherhood Mens Group. This is an organisation that has set out to raise awareness for mens mental health and then offer direct support in the form of group and peer mentoring. Mens mental health sadly still has a lot of stigma attached to it so the work the Brotherhood are doing is vital and fantastic. We found out they were running a fundraiser the day after the Fire event and whilst we couldn’t attend we were able to donate a balloon flight for two for them to raffle off.

We really hope to be able to do more work with them in the future. Please check them out on their website – https://www.brotherhoodmensgroups.com/

In the afternoon, the rain came down, but we deployed our umbrellas in quick fashion and stayed dry, much to the amusement of those watching. As soon as the rain died off, the burners were back on, and we stayed until the end of the event. Throughout the afternoon a number of our other team members came down and joined us too.

This was a fantastic day out and whilst we didn’t get a balloon out or fly it was one of the most fun things we had attended year to date. No stress or pressure, no ego’s, drama, or immature organisers throwing their toys out of the pram. Just honest family fun and a chance to give something back to the community.

We hope to be able to work with the local events teams going forward for more of the same!