Matthew Hutchison / news@whmi.com

A Howell teenager who grew up watching the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest from her front yard will get to see the annual tradition from the air this weekend.

Kelsey Meinke, a recent graduate of Michigan International Prep School and a recent kidney transplant recipient, is scheduled to take a ride Saturday morning in Comcast’s 90-foot Xfinity hot air balloon through a partnership between Xfinity and A Kid Again, a nonprofit that creates experiences for children facing life-threatening conditions. It will be the balloon’s first appearance at the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest in Howell.

For Kelsey Meinke and her family, Balloonfest has always been more than a community event. Their home is adjacent to the launch site, and the family decorates the house each year to celebrate what has become a summer tradition.

“Since being a baby, it’s always been this tradition, this event that I’ve looked forward to every year,” Kelsey said. “Especially when I was sick, it was something to look forward to when things got hard. I’ve always loved the rides and the hot air balloons and the snacks.”

Kelsey said she's always enjoyed watching the festival take shape from home.

“One of my favorite things is being able to see the rides getting set up,” she said. “You can see them from my house, and seeing the hot air balloons coming up and hearing the fire. We rush out into the front yard to see if we can spot them in the sky.”

Kelsey received a kidney transplant in January 2025 and graduated this year from Michigan International Prep School, an online school that gave her flexibility during hospital stays.

She said she has never been in a hot air balloon before, making Saturday’s scheduled flight a first-time experience at an event that has been part of her life for as long as she can remember.

“Balloonfest has always been a big part of my life and my summer,” Kelsey said. “Being sick and finally being better and getting my transplant and graduating, this opportunity feels like a celebration as I head into a new chapter of my life where things are a little bit better.”

Sonya Callahan, Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Comcast based in Plymouth, said the partnership is one of the most inspiring parts of Comcast’s involvement in the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest.

“A Kid Again is an organization that creates hope, happiness and healing, and that’s exactly what we want to do at Comcast as well,” Callahan said. “We want to help make experiences like this possible for the communities that we’re partnering in.”

Callahan said Kelsey’s story reflects the spirit of the event.

“Kelsey’s story is the perfect story of how the Balloonfest can help imagination,” Callahan said. “After overcoming the significant health challenge of receiving a kidney transplant, I hope she now gets to experience other lifelong dreams outside of riding in the hot air balloon, and I hope she inspires other children to hold on to hope and to reimagine what their future could be like as well.”

Kelsey’s mother, Jenifer, said the opportunity immediately felt meaningful because of how deeply her daughter values family traditions.

“When A Kid Again and Comcast reached out about this, I was completely blown away,” Jenifer Meinke said. “I have four children, but Kelsey is probably the most deeply rooted in our family traditions. They’re really important to her.”

She said that for a child with medical complexities, family traditions carry even more meaning.

“So I knew when we talked about this that this would be an opportunity that would blow her mind a bit, and it absolutely did,” she said. “We’re both so grateful and so excited to take something that has been in our family every summer to the next level and to see it from a completely different perspective, literally from the air.”

Jenifer said the family has tried to find moments of hope throughout Kelsey’s medical journey.

“Through kidney failure and dialysis and the ups and downs of hospital stays, we have always tried to look for silver linings,” she said. “Meeting incredible people who provide incredible opportunities like this to families has really been a steadfast, heartwarming thing through our journey.”

Kelsey said she hopes other children and families facing medical challenges hold on to the moments that bring them joy.

“I’ve met a lot of other kids and just people in general who have had similar or worse experiences to mine, and I just want to say, hold on to those happy traditions,” Meinke said. “Life can be hard, but there’s always something to be happy about.”

Jenifer and Kelsey Meinke thanked A Kid Again and Comcast for helping make the flight possible.

“I’m excited for this opportunity and to share it with my family,” Kelsey said. “It’s so incredible.”

The special flight is scheduled for 6 a.m. Saturday, June 27 at the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest in Howell.