The 2009 Color the Skies balloon festival begins today with a pancake breakfast that starts at 5:30 a.m. at Ripon’s Mistlin Park on River Road off of Jack Tone Road accessed via Highway 99. The balloons will inflate and launch between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. today and again Sunday. For more information about the festival visit its website at www.colortheskies.com.