‘We’re here for you’: Wayland balloon fest raises awareness of mental health

Balloons took to the sky in Wayland to raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health. (Sept. 9, 2023)

WAYLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — If you were driving on US-131 near Wayland Saturday evening, you might have noticed multiple hot air balloons up in the sky. That’s because this weekend was the third annual Window World of West Michigan Wayland Hot Air Balloonfest — and it was all for a good cause.

The goal of the event was to raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health.

Nissa Smith, an Allegan County resident who organized the event, said she lost her mother to suicide 16 years ago. Ever since, Smith said she’s been looking for ways to raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health.

Three years ago, she came up with the idea of Balloonfest.

“We were sitting at our kitchen table, of all places, and saw the balloons flying. And we’re like, these make up happy. These make us feel good, and we love seeing them. And I just wanted other people to have that experience as well,” Smith explained. “Just seeing the smiles on other people’s faces when this was happening, I just thought, ‘This is great for my own mental health.’”

Like Smith, Thomas Brown has also lost family to suicide.

Brown, who served for 22 years in the U.S. Air Force, is a hot air balloon pilot who was also at the weekend’s festival. After losing multiple family members to suicide, he flies his hot air balloon with a simple message: Never Give Up.

On Saturday, hundreds of people, including Macy Hyenhuis and her family, flooded the Calkins Field Airport to watch the balloons go up, one by one.

“The kids have been seeing the festival from our backyard for the last couple of years,” Hyenhuis said. “We just live a couple miles north of the airport here and they like watching the balloons go off, so this year we decided to bring them here and watch them.”

The festival featured food, a live band and messages spread across the field with signs of hope and reassurance that you aren’t alone.

“Mental health awareness is huge, and obviously a community event like this, that brings everybody together,” Derrick Jones, a balloon pilot, said. “I always say there’s no better way to bring people together than with hot air balloons.”

“We just thought this would be a great platform to be able to reach people and let them know that they’re not alone, it’s OK to talk to others, we’re here for you,” Smith said. “And it just kind of all came together.”

This year, the festival benefited 4 One 2 Cares, a nonprofit that raises awareness of suicide prevention and mental health.

The event ended Saturday night after an 8:30 p.m. balloon glow.