page_title: Great Pershing Balloon Derby
section_title: The GPBD today
hierarchical_section_title: Great Pershing Balloon Derby / The GPBD today
caption_attribution_description: Balloon night glow during the Great Pershing Balloon Derby near Brookfield, Missouri, September, 2001.
context_page_description: The Great Pershing Balloon Derby is a hot air balloon festival held each Labor Day weekend near Brookfield, Missouri. The three-day festival draws balloonists from the midwest and as far away as Florida and the Pacific Northwest. It is named in honor of General John J. Pershing, leader of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I and a native of nearby Laclede, Missouri. The Great Pershing Balloon Derby has been recognized as the longest running continually sanctioned ballooning event in the U.S. by the Balloon Federation of America.
context_section_description: The derby itself is held now at the Myron Peacher Memorial Launch Site, an open field on State Road FF about two miles north of U.S. Highway 36 between Brookfield and Laclede. In recent years the number of participating balloons has stabilized at around forty-five. One highlight is the "South Main Night Flame", held in downtown Brookfield. Balloonists and their craft line the street for a night burn. In 2011 and 2012 he derby was selected as site for the BFA North Central Regional Championship. 
  The balloon derby is held in conjunction with many other festivities in nearby Brookfield including beauty contests, concerts, parades, and a fly-in at North Central Missouri Regional Airport. Launches are generally at dusk and dawn on Saturday and Sunday and at dawn on Monday (Labor Day).  A night glow is usually held at sunset on Sunday evening.
caption: A "night glow" launch from the 2001 Great Pershing Balloon Derby.
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