Balloon Fest endured the hot humid weather over the weekend as all events went off as scheduled.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marcus Holland feels the event was a success despite the temperatures.
“Security was one of the things, and of course we had the increase in admission price, but we’ve communicated that well enough. We didn’t have any problems in the park. It worked really well, we had great crowds in spite of the hot weather. We do know that some people didn’t want to venture out for the hot weather, but we still had great crowds both Friday and Saturday night.”
Holland says while rain normally isn’t a welcome event, the brief light shower Saturday afternoon cooled things off enough to make the Balloon Glow possible for all the pilots.
It was the second year that Rob Jackson chaired the event.
“It was a fabulous weekend. It was hot, but man, the crowds showed up on Friday and Saturday. Saturday was a really big night. Vendors were happy, crafters were happy, and everything went really smoothly.”
The weather did take its toll on Sunday evening, as just two hot air balloons took flight for the final event for local pilots.
Next year’s chair is Kayla Lambert who says planning for Balloon Fest is a yearlong process.
“I’ve already started my checklist on things that we need to remember for next year,” Lambert said. “Things that maybe we could do better timing wise, improvements. Every year is different. Sometimes there’s heat, sometimes there’s rain, and sometimes there’s too much wind. Really, we’re dealing with nature out here, and we just have to do the best we can with what we have.”
Lambert says she hopes to build on some of the changes made this year and says the 35 balloons at this weekend’s event appears to be the ‘right’ size for Foundation Park.
Crowds walk through the craft fair at Balloon Fest 2025. Photo by Pat Hodges.
