When the Arizona Balloon Classic lifts off Jan. 16-18 at the Wild Horse Pass Festival Grounds, it will feel a bit like a homecoming for event promoter Tim Matykiewicz of Ocotillo.
Matykiewicz launched the very first Classic on the Gila River Indian Community land in 2011 on what was essentially just open desert.
“They said, ‘Here, you can have this. You can use this,’” Matykiewicz recalled. “So my son and I and a couple of Desert Vista football players went out there in August and we started developing that space.”…