The Great Smoky Mountain Hot Air Balloon Festival is quickly becoming a staple of family fun in East Tennessee. This past weekend we had the pleasure of spending the afternoon and evening in Townsend, Tennessee attending this great event. The weather wasn’t perfect and we got soaked at times but the night still ended with an amazing “glow” of hot air balloons scattered across the backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains.

FUN AND FOOD

Although the festival is a fairly new event it seems to be growing well. Blount County and the City of Townsend coordinate to reduce traffic congestion and get people in an out of the event quickly and safely. There are plenty of large fields available for parking and most charged $10.00 per car. We only had to walk about a quarter mile to the festival from our parking spot. Once at the gate we were charged $5.00 each with children 12 and under being free!!

Inside the festival we found several vendors for crafts and goods along with lots of food vendors and games for the kids. The bounce house, rock climbing wall and bungee bounce were all free with admission which is a big plus. The one addition we found was the axe throwing but it was well worth the cost to see the kids have such fun. 865 Axe had a wonderful setup and the staff were all helpful and patient with kids.

HOT AIR BALLOONS

Around 7:30 pm the weather started clearing and the balloons were able to inflate meaning rides could begin! Unfortunately I didn’t get online far enough in advance to purchase ride tickets ($25.00 each) but we had a surprise in store for us!

As darkness set in we made our way to the fence line near the ride check in table so I could take video and photos of the “glow” and enjoy the lights of the balloons. As we were watching one of the balloon owners ran up to me and said “I’ve got 3 spots in my basket…..hurry with me!” We all quickly jumped up and took off running behind her toward one of the balloons. Before any of us could really grasp what was going on we were loaded into the basket and rising into the air. (NOTE: I’m TERRIFIED of heights)

This experience in itself was a bucket list item for us but we quickly found out there was more to come! As it turned out we were the last ride of the night and they needed the weight in the basket until they could start deflating the balloon. This meant we got to stay in the basket, in the middle of all the balloons, during what they call glow. This was the period when music was played and all the balloons lit up to the beat. Check out the show on our YouTube video!!!

Overall this was a great event to spend a family evening. We have been truly blessed with the opportunities God has provided us and the ability to enjoy times like this together. Never discount anything in life.