Both my boys have been semi-obsessed with balloons. Which is why, every fall, we kick off the new season with a trip to the Plano Balloon Festival. The festival is happening this weekend, so start preparing! We love to read books or watch videos about balloons.
The festival is a super family-friendly event held in East Plano. General Admission is only $5 per person, and kids under 36″ are Free! There are vendors, a kids’ area, community demonstrations, and even a half marathon. Many of the vendors are non-profits so it’s a great way to be part of the community.
This will be our third year attending the festival with little ones in tow. We are early risers, quite unfortunately, but it does make for an easy way for us to see the morning balloon launch. Most of our friends choose the evening events but we have heard they are significantly more crowded.
We usually bring our wagon. I would recommend taking something suited for hauling over wet grass grass, and the walk in from parking is far. Take a cooler for sippys and there are tons of tasty breakfast vendors, though you can bring in food. Seating is really nice up on the hill, you can bring blankets or chairs. Parking is an additional cost, though we have parked at Lavon Farms for free.
The festival gives you the opportunity to view launches twice a day, and each launch has a “glow” event where the balloons all take turns firing up in the dark. If you have a 2-3 year old, you will blow their minds with the glow event.
Our favorite part is when the balloons land. They open the gates and allow the children to get very close. Also, most balloons have little “trader cards” that have photos and facts on them. My oldest loves to collect those cards. The air firing into the balloons can get really loud, so a skittish little one may not love being close to the balloons.
Here’s my warning about the festival: watch the weather. It is amazing how perfect weather conditions must be for hot air balloons to fly around. The festival continues rain or shine, but we have been disappointed before. They usually bring out and inflate balloons even if they do not launch, but it’s kind of a bummer to not get to see them go up. However, that’s another bonus to morning attendance- parking and tickets are good all day, so you can try again in the evening if it doesn’t work out that morning.
Give the Plano Balloon Festival a try this weekend!
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2014 Festival Dates:
September 19: 4pm-10pm
September 20: 6am-10pm
September 21: 6am-7pm
My friend Steph took family photos with hot air balloons and they turned out amazing! Next Miller family photos ??? Check it out: http://sessionninephotography.com/blog/the-flies-lifestyle/
Hmmm, both girls were up by 5 today, but they would like to see the balloons this Saturday morning.
Love the top picture. The multicolored balloon with the black bands is mine!! Highly Cool is the name. Thanks for sharing.