Pellissippi State balloon festival hosts Oggy the Friendly Dragon

You’ve heard about the notorious “800-pound gorilla” in the room—the one that dominates because of its great size or power.

Well, the 800-pound gorilla at the 2007 Balloon Festival on September 28-29 is actually a dragon … Oggy the Friendly Dragon, to be precise.

Oggy is a giant among balloons: he really does weigh 800 pounds, and that’s without the basket, burners, tanks and passengers.

And in fact, his name comes from the legendary lake monster sighted in Lake Okanogan in the interior of British Columbia. Known as “Oggopoggo” in that region of Canada, the mythological monster’s name was already copyrighted, but pilot Ron Martin got permission to use the name “Oggy” for his balloon.

“I’m looking forward to introducing Oggy to Knoxville,” said Martin. Already this year Oggy has flown at balloon rallies in Newfoundland, New York and South Carolina.

Martin, a native of Nova Scotia, Canada, says what he enjoys most about flying the 14-story dragon is “the way children love Oggy and the comments and applause as he takes off into flight.”