{"id":478869,"date":"2022-07-29T01:47:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T22:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-hot-air-ballooning-is-helping-this-republican-win-in-nj\/"},"modified":"2022-07-29T01:47:20","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T22:47:20","slug":"how-hot-air-ballooning-is-helping-this-republican-win-in-nj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-hot-air-ballooning-is-helping-this-republican-win-in-nj\/","title":{"rendered":"#How hot air ballooning is helping this Republican win in NJ"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c591e43f1c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c591e43f1c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-hot-air-ballooning-is-helping-this-republican-win-in-nj\/#%E2%80%9CHow_hot_air_ballooning_is_helping_this_Republican_win_in_NJ%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How hot air ballooning is helping this Republican win in NJ&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_hot_air_ballooning_is_helping_this_Republican_win_in_NJ%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How hot air ballooning is helping this Republican win in NJ&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Call them lofty goals.<\/p>\n<p>Vinny Panico has established himself as a successful hot air balloon pilot, all while maintaining a career in sales and running a current political campaign under a Republican ticket for his local town council.  <\/p>\n<p>The 31-year-old hails from Readington Township, New Jersey, which is home to the annual <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/balloonfestival.com\/\">New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning<\/a> \u2014 the largest of its kind in North America during the summer. He flies in it yearly and will do so again this weekend, starting Friday, July 29.<\/p>\n<p>For 10 years now, Panico has soared high in the skies across America in his own colorful purple, pink and black floating vessel. Panico has also found a niche piloting commercial balloons that advertise for major brands:\u00a0On St. Patrick\u2019s Day, he did a special flyby over Jersey City for Guinness.<\/p>\n<p>And his hobby has its advantages on the campaign trail, said Panico.<\/p>\n<p>Although he narrowly lost a bid for Assembly District 16 in the Garden State last year, he won a primary for Readington\u2019s town council, with the final vote coming up in November.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning007-copy.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"New Jersey's Vinny Panico has a passion for hot air balloons and politics. He routinely is involved in both. \" class=\"wp-image-23242219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning007-copy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning007-copy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning007-copy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>New Jersey\u2019s Vinny Panico has a passion for hot air balloons and politics. He\u2019s routinely involved in both. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Vinny Panico<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhen you fly a balloon, you\u2019re not flying 30 or 40 miles, you\u2019re flying 5 \u2026 You\u2019re staying close to home,\u201d he told The Post, adding that he\u2019ll often make calculated landings in the yards and fields of constituents. \u201cWhen it comes to the identity of the town, ballooning is huge with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cDo I land and say, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m Vinny, running for office\u2019? No. But a lot of times people make the connection. I\u2019ll get <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> messages from people who say, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s super cool you landed in my yard, good luck in November!\u2019 and then we\u2019ll start talking about [the election].\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"688\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest001.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Vinny Panico looks forward to the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning each year. He worked the event as a teen and became a pilot because of it.\" class=\"wp-image-23242167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest001.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest001.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest001.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Vinny Panico looks forward to the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning each year. He worked the event as a teen and became a pilot because of it.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy: New Jersey Lottery Fes<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>Panico has also learned that flying hot air balloons has a surprising amount in common with political glad-handing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about being a really good neighbor \u2026 [Ballooning and politics both] allow me to go out and talk to a lot of different people. We\u2019ve got something to talk about, something we\u2019ve got a common bond over, locally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Balancing his career in IT sales with his political ambitions and his hobby is actually less complicated than it <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears, Panico said. \u201cSunrise and sunset are the times when balloon flights happen because of wind patterns, so it doesn\u2019t interfere with your day too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/PXL_20220314_193150766.MP_.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Vinny Panico is a New Jersey hot air balloon pilot who doubles as a politician. \" class=\"wp-image-23242113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/PXL_20220314_193150766.MP_.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/PXL_20220314_193150766.MP_.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/PXL_20220314_193150766.MP_.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/PXL_20220314_193150766.MP_.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Vinny Panico is a New Jersey hot air balloon pilot who doubles as a politician. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He discovered his passion for aviation early on. As a boy, Panico\u2019s grandmother would take him balloon chasing, where they would follow colorful vessels that were up in the air to see them land. <\/p>\n<p>In his teen years, he began volunteering at the festival, which is so massive that it \u201cmakes Readington the third-largest town in New Jersey for three days,\u201d he said. The locally beloved fair features twice-a-day balloon flights, plus live music, rides, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s and concessions. This Sunday afternoon, the old-school rock band Kansas will be taking the stage.  <\/p>\n<p>While working at the festival throughout high school, Panico befriended some local pilots. In turn, they helped Panico get on his feet to fly when he turned 18, but there was turbulence when he spent $10,000 on his first balloon while still living with his parents Jill and Sal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"795\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning005-copy-1.jpg?w=795\" alt=\"Vinny Panico loves taking his balloon up locally around Readington, NJ.\" class=\"wp-image-23242309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning005-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1590 1590w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning005-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1192 1192w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning005-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=795 795w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning005-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=397 397w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning005-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 795px) 100vw, 795px\"\/><figcaption>Vinny Panico loves taking his balloon up locally around Readington, New Jersey.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Vinny Panico<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"769\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest002.jpg?w=769\" alt=\"The New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning inspired Vinny Panico to become a hot air balloon pilot.\" class=\"wp-image-23242320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest002.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1538 1538w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest002.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1154 1153w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest002.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=769 769w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest002.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=385 384w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/BalloonFest002.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px\"\/><figcaption>The New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning inspired Vinny Panico to become a hot air balloon pilot.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy: New Jersey Lottery Fes<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI had to buy it incognito. I knew that my mom would be furious with me if she heard that I bought a balloon \u2026 I was able to keep it at different people\u2019s houses, different businesses, at a storage facility for a little before I was ready to tell my mom I made this purchase while I was still living at home paying off my student loans.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>But eventually, Panico mustered up the courage to come clean. It was after that successful negotiation that he got his first taste of politics by joining a local school board at age 21. Panico stayed on for nine years before eyeing the big races \u2014 all while flying in balloon festivals nationwide and, of course, enjoying the air close to his home of 31 years. After eight years of piloting, Panico\u2019s mom finally joined him for a ride, he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning003-copy-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Vinny Panico will take flight in this weekend's The New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning.\" class=\"wp-image-23242364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning003-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning003-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Ballooning003-copy-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Vinny Panico will take flight in this weekend\u2019s New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Vinny Panico<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And the festival continues to bring him hometown pride.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe coming together of it is really special to me; my dad even helps me set up and when I land. It is a huge why reason I became a pilot. Going from watching it while I was younger to working it as a teen, and now flying in it, there\u2019s nothing else like that,\u201d said Panico.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/07\/28\/how-hot-air-ballooning-is-helping-this-republican-win-in-nj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How hot air ballooning is helping this Republican win in NJ&#8221; Call them lofty goals. Vinny Panico has established himself as a successful hot air balloon pilot, all while maintaining a career in sales and running a current political campaign under a Republican ticket for his local town council. The 31-year-old hails from Readington Township,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":478870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/balloon-fest.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[131791,73036,28264,109525],"class_list":["post-478869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-28-22","tag-hot-air-balloons","tag-new-jersey","tag-private-aviation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}