Above: Skydivers turn points on a 12-way during the boogie. Photo by Preston Pettigrew.
The first FreeFALL Festival—hosted by Orange Skies Free Fall Center in Fort Morgan, Colorado, October 4-6—was a huge success. The sold-out event attracted jumpers from several states, and load organizers Emily Bombardi, Ian Bonnes, Bobbie Buenaflor, Samantha Harris, Jeff Hill, Rob Roberts and Kelly Saltern also traveled to Fort Morgan (several all the way from Skydive Perris in California) to help organize jumps throughout the weekend. Event organizer Hillary Ballard worked closely with drop zone owner Mike Bohn to plan and advertise the boogie.
The weather cooperated beautifully, with temperatures in the low 80s and light-to-moderate winds every day. Jumpers participated in a variety of belly formation jumps, including big-ways in the double digits and hybrid formations. Notable jumps included multiple 14-way belly formations, a successful 8-way sunset hybrid and a 14-way sunset hybrid attempt. Five ladies, organized by Saltern and Bombardi, even set a Colorado Record for Largest Two-Point Full-Break Sequential Formation Skydive (and a female videographer documented it).
To support all boogie fun jumpers and tandem customers, the drop zone’s Blackhawk Caravan ran from early morning until sunset on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This was one of the busiest weekends of the entire year for Orange Skies. The drop zone generously provided videographers Shay Carter and Preston Pettigrew to photograph and video organized groups, and local photographer Randy Liljenberg was on hand to take ground photos of canopy flights and landings.
FreeFALL Festival participants gather for a group photo after a long day of jumping. Photo by Randy Liljenberg.
Attendees received an event T-shirt, food and drinks, as well as a chance to win raffle prizes from sponsors Cookie Helmets, Flight-1, Option Studios, Performance Designs, Perris Performance Plus, USPA Courses and Vertical Suits. On the first day, Ballard organized a group dinner at the Mav Kitchen and Tap House in Fort Morgan for all to relax and refuel. And on Saturday, Bohn orchestrated an extravagant pig roast.
Overall, the boogie was a huge success for the drop zone and all participants, and it’s likely that the FreeFALL Fest will continue as an annual event!
Shay Carter | D-41309
Longmont, Colorado