Absolutely loved this ballon fest! We only went on Saturday and tickets online were $25 but kids under 6 were free! We got there at 7:30am so parking was super easy! Definitely get the parking pass ($15), totally worth it especially if you have a young kiddo like we did. Parking and the event is in a grassy field. We packed water, snacks, blankets and even clothes to change when it warmed up in the afternoon. We planned to stay for the morning balloons and the afternoon balloons so we were prepared. The balloons were so cool. And we were really close. They also did tethered balloon rides and balloon flights for purchase. There were plenty of food stands , drinks areas and vendors. There was also a kids area with shows, bounce houses and hay bails for chilling. They only had porta-potties but never had to wait in line. They also do a night glow and for $2 you could walk inside a balloon getting inflated. This was such a fun family-friendly event with great photo opps. There were a lot of people but never felt overly crowded. We will be making this a family tradition! read more

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Phenomenal event, not too crowded, great for families and couples. Do not miss this annual event. read more

This is a very cool event. It was my first year going but it's the 48th year of the festival. It is located in Statesville, NC about 3 hours west of Raleigh and 2 hrs east of Asheville. It's a weekend event Friday through Sunday. $20 Ticket for entry. If you are interested, there are camp sites near by. I believe you are also allowed to bring your camper and stay on the grounds overnight (check website). PRO TIP: BUY $10 PARKING PASS WHEN YOU GET YOUR TICKET SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO PARK FAR AWAY AND TAKE SHUTTLE TO EVENT No seating is available in the fest. Bring your own chairs and blankets. There is a stage with bands that play all day, food stands and tucks, and vendor tents. PRO TIP: BRING CASH! Not a lot of vendors here take card. There was an ATM with a $4.50 service fee and a long line. We went to the event on Saturday and it was perfect weather 70, sunny, and no clouds. We were so excited to see the balloons! Unfortunately, good weather doesn't mean the balloons will fly. Conditions were too windy for them to fly and they couldn't even blow up until 5 pm. We were so disappointed but it's of no fault of the event. Just something to be aware could happen if you attend. They offered balloon rides for $10 but it is a 2 min ride and you barely leave the ground. In my opinion, not worth the extremely long wait. Overall, cool experience and would attend again. read more

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To truly enjoy this, you have to go on the right day. First, you need to pick a day with clear weather! Balloons won't go up if it's not. Second. I'd wait and attend later on in the day, as there isn't as much going on before 4-5 pm. There are a lot of fun things for kids to do here! Bouncies, rock climbing, face painting, etc! The real fun started when they blew up the hot air balloon that lays on its side, that you can walk inside of and hit around beach balls! You definitely want to stick around for night time, as they tether a bunch of balloons and then do a light show with them where they all light their flames at the same time. It's so neat! I'll provide pictures. Lastly, we went up in a tethered balloon, which was definitely a fun experience for my daughter and I. If you do this festival right, I 10/10 recommend. I could definitely see the disappointment in attending if the weather ended up not cooperating though. The balloons are the best part, and what make the whole festival amazing. read more

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What an AMAZING experience. Get there EARLY like 700am for the morning launch. The agenda says 8am for the launch, but that is like when they are IN the air!! You want to see them setup and inflate and all the fire and excitement starts EARLY. Once the launch happens, the balloons are up and over the horizon in a matter of 10-20 minutes... so if you think about getting there at 9am... you missed it... but DONT WORRY... the evening launch is awesome as well! The all-day activities move quickly as you wait for the evening launch. Plenty of fair-food items: waffles, chicken, greek, funnel-cake, sausage peppers and onions.... and plenty... LOTS of out-door toilets too. There were 3 balloons that were giving up-and-down tethered rides all day $10 a person for about 5 minutes of enjoyment. One balloon was cash-only, the other 2 took plastic. Line was LONG, but it moved quickly and was all-ages. Very safe, lots of staff managing the balloons, felt totally secure the entire time and professional managed. Several bands play through out the day, and they add a great atmosphere to the event. At the 2022 event, during the evening launch, there was this really cool Irish band that blew the bagpipes and pounded the drums for like 1-hour while the balloons prepared and then launched, it was like a mid-evil war party and added a lot of drama to the event. The evening launch was spectacular, with warmer weather at that time of day and a better understanding of where to sit and watch (choose the hill) about 20-25 balloons fill up and launch in the matter of 20 minutes. Its a race of sort, to get them all up in the air fast and then they magically just float away! A MUST-SEE for anyone. Parking: Get the VIP parking and be just 100 feet from the entrance. The general admissions parking is poorly organized and a nightmare. read more

Carolina Balloon Fest - Get here EARLY! Like 715am early... - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Statesville, North Carolina

My feelings are very similar to many that have been posted for the balloon festival this past weekend. I purchased tickets online along with a VIP parking pass. The parking pass had the same address as the festival tickets and with VIP, you think that you'll be closer to things. Traffic was heavy and very backed up on the 2-lane road getting to the airfield. My husband and I finally got up to where traffic was being directed and were told that we were in the wrong place. We had to drive 10 minutes back toward the area we had just come from. I guess the VIP parking was being serviced by a shuttle...? I'm not sure how that's a bonus, having to wait on someone else to show up and take you to your destination on their schedule. But that's what we were directed to do so we went. We got to the location, an elementary school, where there were already a lot of people waiting. It was obvious that they had been waiting a while. You could see the restlessness. We parked and waited about 30 minutes and there was still no transportation. We finally gave up and headed home. A 2+ hour round trip for no reason that I paid for. I'm not sure that I would go back. read more

Carolina Balloon Fest - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Statesville, North Carolina

Got to see balloons taking off then floating majestically. Once airborne several of them competed by tossing markers at targets on the ground. Definitely a rare treat. The festival had a few merchandise merchants and could use more for variety sake. Typical festival / fair food vendor options. Consider myself lucky to have run into Cuban food via the MAMBO food truck; enjoyed all 4 varieties of deep fried empandas. Empanadas were favorable and of decent size; get 4 for $12.xx . Waited two hours to float up in one of two or three operating tethered balloons. Well worth the wait, though actual airtime is 4 minutes or a little less. Only cost $10.xx and understand that all proceeds generated go toward charity. Bus shuttle was efficient,this Saturday morning g coming in from no additional cost parking lot. Paid parking should get one right next to the main launch site / fair. Definitely worth while if one has been exposed to balloons before. And would consider this festival in years to come. read more

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Our family had a great time at the Carolina Balloon Fest. We bought tickets beforehand, which locked us into a day that has some uncooperative weather. They didn't do a mass ascension because of rain, and then they had to cancel the night glow because more rain was rolling in, but we had a great middle time of just watching the balloons inflate and exploring the booths. I think because of the rain, none of the promises bounce houses were available, which was a bummer. Basically, this event is HIGHLY weather dependent. You might want to wait to buy tickets until the day of, although they say if they run out of tickets they will stop selling. At the last minute, we purchased parking online too -- NO regrets. Best $10 we spent. It was nice to be able to walk in and out of the event. We started in the free lot that's 15 minutes away, and it looked like the shuttles were large Coach buses that were waiting to fill before they drove over. We have younger kids and we're happy we paid for parking right at the event. You have to buy it beforehand online. Do not forget camp chairs and blankets. The event takes place in a field. The ground is bumpy in places. I'd recommend a wagon over a stroller unless you have an amazing off-road stroller. Food is standard carnival food at carnival prices. We got some beef brisket and it was amazing. The kids got hot dogs and were happy. We will come back another year and try for a day with better weather. The event seemed well organized, but there was nothing anyone could do about the weather. It was a great way to spend a fall afternoon! read more

Carolina Balloon Fest - One of the first balloons to inflate - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Statesville, North Carolina

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If I could give zero stars, I would. Parking on Saturday was a complete disaster! I PRE-paid for parking in addition to a festival ticket. When I arrived after an hour drive, the main parking lot was full and closed. I sat in a 3.5 mile long line of cars waiting to get in. We didn't move an inch! Same with the park-n-ride lot. The attendant closed that lot bc he had "nearly a thousand" people to get bused over and would never make it by sunset. My friends were in the same situation and we all missed the festival due to poor business practices and mismanagement of the parking. And get this...NO REFUNDS! A complete waste of my time & money. read more

Carolina Balloon Fest - Closed park-n-ride lot with "nearly a thousand" people waiting to be bused to the festival. - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Statesville, North Carolina

SAVE YOUR MONEY!! Worst experience there's 7 balloons, laser show is horrible, they over charge for entry and everything inside. Everyone started leaving second the show started. read more

If I could give a 0 I would. Despite arriving before the projected ascension, I was sent on a wild goose chance by police officers -- only to be in traffic for roughly 1.5 hours. Only to hear police officers say although the Facebook update says those with VIP/Preferred parking will be permitted, we cannot go in-- even associated with a vendor. Am I being refunded? I'm certain not. Oh & no ascension again! read more

The information about when the balloons ascend was inaccurate on both the website and the pamphlet. The balloons are only there at the early morning and before they close for about 10 minutes a piece. We were given bad information about when to arrive. The website said the balloons ascended at 8am, so we drove an hour from home to see them, but in reality, they left at 7/7:30am. Same goes for the evening. The shuttles stop running 2 hours before the event ends, so if you had free parking, you would have to walk the 5 mile distance back to your vehicle. This event was poorly orchestrated especially for this to have been the 49th year. They need to do better! Everything is overpriced with no refunds. It's a shame to travel to see these balloons and potentially miss out because of misinformation. This was a terrible experience that ended up being a waste of our day. read more

From getting on line for the shuttle to getting to my car took over 4 hours. I've had some bad experiences in past years with parking at this event, but after this I will never be back. Edit - they've had a dozen+ reviews removed from Google reviews that detailed peoples negative experiences. read more

We had a fantastic time at the Carolina Balloon Fest! Hot Air Balloons are very sensitive to weather and wind and really need perfect weather conditions in order to take off and have safe flights. We didn't get to see balloons take off the day we were there but it's totally understandable because it was super windy and the atmosphere was unstable. That being said, this event was so well planned out that we were still able to have a great time! It was really nice that there was a beer and wine garden where we could get unlimited samples from local wineries and breweries. I like to experience the local area when I'm out of town so I'm glad we got that opportunity to try local drinks while at the festival. They also had many many vendors or all sorts of varieties. I do wish there were more vendors that focused more on Hot Air Balloon items though. There were three or four vendors with hot air balloon related merchandise. There were many food options available and we really enjoyed the Asian noodles. There was an escape room game that could be played for an extra fee in the downtime between potential balloon events. I strongly feel that there should not be an extra charge to the escape room though. As much as you pay to get into the festival I really feel that the escape room experience should have been included in the ticket price. That's the reason I'm giving four stars. I felt like the price of the ticket just got me onto the field and then everything else was an up-charge. There's lots of room for kids to run and play. You can take a blanket and chairs and make a day out of it. I do like that there were plenty of port-a-potty's available and they were even cleaned throughout the event. read more

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Full Report - Need to knows! Adult, kid, and family friendly. Tons of fun. The balloons launch every morning and evening except Friday. It's quite an amazing site to see. Beer and wine section for the adults featuring local wineries and beers. A huge kid section with bounce houses, bungee trampolines, walk-in hot air balloon, football kicks and throws, rock climbing and more. Local businesses and a variety of vendors. I go every year and love it. Balloons: Helpful Info - Rain or shine event which means if it is very windy the balloons will not fly. You can walk around the balloons as they are getting ready up to them launching. Most of the crew will talk to you. It's very personal. They all launch around 5 pm Friday, 9 am and 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. If they can't fly, they'll do an evening glow which is super cool. Pricing: $5 on Friday, $25 on Saturday (so spend the whole day if you are going), Sunday $15. Tickets are available at the event or online but you don't save much money online due to the fees. I suggest bringing camping chairs and blankets. I usually go with 4 to 8 people so it's nice to have a "home base" so everyone has a place to meet up, rest, eat, drop off their stuff. You get a lot of freebies and don't want to carry it around all day. It's a long walk to the car. Coolers are not allowed but you can bring in a non-alcoholic drink. Parking: Free but the traffic can be bad getting in and out. Times to watch out for are.... Friday 4 pm to 5 pm. 30-45 minute wait in traffic is the norm. They open at 3:30 so be there between 3 - 3:15. Saturday lunchtime and afternoon can also be difficult to enter. GO EARLY ON SATURDAY. Leaving on Saturday right after the balloons launch is also a nightmare so just wait a while before heading out. Want to ride but don't have the $250 + per person? Yes, you can ride in one of the balloons for around $250 per person. See their website. However, you can ride for just $10! BONUS! Get in line EARLY as soon as they start to form. It's a tethered ride which means it is tied to the ground. It goes up about 40-50 feet in the air and then down. It is fun and worth it! However, if you plan to propose to your girlfriend then shell out the $500. More Helpful Hints: The food is fabulous but it is pricey. Also, the food lines get up to 100 people deep Saturday lunchtime to afternoon so eat before or after the main rush. Overall... JUST GO! It's fun! read more

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I've been wanting to check out this festival for a couple of years now and I finally made it this year. The line to get in on Friday was so long that it took us 45 minutes just to get in. Once inside, there were some vendors. There were a lot of companies and only a few local craft/art vendors. I enjoyed browsing the vendors, but I wish there was more artists and less companies. The food is your standard carnival food. I wish there were more food truck type of food. The best part was definitely the balloon launch. There were probably 50 different hot air balloons that launched within 45 minutes. I'm definitely glad I went to see the balloon launch, it's definitely worth seeing at least once! read more

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HORRIBLE MANAGEMENT WITH PARKING!!! Be ready to wait in line! They have you take buses to and from the event from the designated parking area, which is in a different town than the event. Once I arrived at the parking area I had to wait for two hours in line with toddlers to board the bus to even get to the event. The bus ride to and from is about 15-25 minutes. Luckily as we were leaving we planned accordingly to board the bus early prior to the event closing and was able to get on with only a 30 minute wait. If I waited just 15 minutes longer I would have been waiting probably 3 plus hours to get on a bus to leave the event. They definitely need to figure out another solution for this. I heard from other attendees that the pre-paid parking is just as bad if not worse. The picture is what I was able to capture leaving the event of the line for the buses to get back to the parking lot. They had probably 10 buses running to shuttle thousands of people. read more

Carolina Balloon Fest - The line to get on a bus to go back to the parking lot. Complete chaos. - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Statesville, North Carolina

I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. We buy the tickets 4 days before the event on their official website. On Saturday (event day) we traveled 4 hours to get to the festival. We were stuck in traffic for 2 hours, and when we arrived at the destination they wouldn't let us go in because they said it was already full and that we should call for a refund. They don't know how to organize and they only waste people's time and money. read more

Paid for Saturday arrived at three stayed until 5 not a single balloon in site! I'm confused as other balloon rallies they always had balloons at least set up on the grounds throughout the day... I get if weather didn't permit but we didn't pay just to come out and lay on grass with thousands of people. What a total bummer read more

I created a Yelp account solely for the purpose of warning others about this experience-DO NOT ATTEND THIS EVENT. This was the worst experience of its kind (state/regional festival) I have ever had, and I am someone who gets out to a ton of these events. It took over an hour to get onto the shuttle in the parking lot to even get into the festival, then I waited for over an hour to get food (between two food trucks). I watched the balloons get filled and lit up for the "glow" for roughly 7 minutes and then realized I had to leave immediately to get in line for a shuttle back to the parking lot because streams of people were already leaving, all of us hoping to avoid the supposed hour-long wait to get back to the parking lot. Little did we know that we would wait (at least my group, in roughly the first 6th of the line due to my leaving so early to get in line) over 3 HOURS, in the dark, 62 degrees out and falling, while we watched hundreds of people skip the lines entirely and walk right onto the shuttle buses, with no one directing traffic, no structure of any kind provided for visual guidance on where the lines started or stopped, and a bunch of helpless teenagers in safety vests as the only people to ask questions, though every single one I checked in with told me they had no answers and didn't know what was going on. There appeared to be roughly 10 shuttle buses, each taking 40+ minutes for roundtrip from the parking lot, to transfer a number of people so vast I can't even estimate the crowd size. Police eventually arrived but then repeatedly told all of us who asked for help or answers or options that it was "not their job" to help direct traffic and that we would have to wait patiently while we watched the other line (of the 2 lines originally formed) stream past us to get on shuttle after shuttle as my line waited on the gravel without moving. Desperate to get home after so many hours of standing and getting nowhere, I asked a police officer where I could tell an Uber to pick us up and was told that the police had closed off all other routes in and out of the festival to any traffic other than the shuttles. Flabbergasted, I realized that the police and the completely absent festival organisers had abandoned all of us (thousands of people waiting in line, many of them clearly hours behind me), to a situation that was *begging* for people to panic and begin rioting: I was told by a police officer "our only job is to break things up if anyone gets in a fist fight" while he ignored numerous citizens requesting help and answers. Let me be clear: there was no water or food because all vendors had packed up and left (and of course no one would leave their place in line because they'd be set back by hours and have to start at the back again). There were two port-a-potties (with no toilet paper) for a mass of thousands of people. There was nowhere to sit except the gravel road. There were no means of accessing heat or medical care if needed. And we were repeatedly told we had no way out other than to stand in line with no indicators that we would ever reach the point of being put on the shuttles. I could hardly believe it when our line finally started getting access to shuttles, thanks only to one police officer, Officer Linney: this was truly a nightmarish experience and I am appalled that the festival organisers, the police department, and the city government would not only allow but exacerbate these conditions for the public. This extends to far more than a 0 star Yelp review: I will be contacting the city tomorrow in regards to their participation in the incredible lack of planning for this massive event and their seemingly willful ignorance of the problems that would arise (and were arising in real time, with refusal from the police department to take charge of bringing resolution). read more

Came on Friday 25 to 30.balloons went off but with 2 balloons giving rides it t0ok.all the room and only 8.came back to do the light show.that sucks. I wanted to see them all read more

This was a good family or date night event. Inexpensive tickets and prepaid parking options. Pretty good selection of food with food trucks. Outside of watching/riding balloons they had plenty to offer. Live music, kids section, various vendors, beer/wine area, and aerialist just to name a few. The night glow was our personal favorite. So stay for that! Note that the balloons are weather dependent. And the event is rain or shine. So dress in layers and be prepared for that. Even with the prepaid parking pass... parking was a NIGHTMARE. Much like others mentioned. We sat in traffic almost an hour. It has to be fixed for future events. read more

Carolina Balloon Fest - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Statesville, North Carolina

A pretty cool balloon festival that's held annually and attended by thousands! It's a three day event and worth getting their early as you'll get to see the balloons coming into the large open field from over the treetops! Once all have landed, there's not a whole lot left to do except browse the festival like vendors that are set up around the perimeter of the field. This is certainly a kid friendly event. read more

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This year was our second visit to Carolina Balloon Fest. In some ways it was better: we went on a Friday so tickets were only $5, the weather conditions were better so we actually got to see the ascension and we weren't freezing cold this time. But the traffic just ruined the whole thing for me and I don't think I'll check it out again. I didn't bother timing it, but getting in and getting out was excruciating. Maybe you can plan for this and bring snacks and games to entertain yourself. I don't know how the event could improve this, but I really hope they can figure out a way. If you aren't turned off by the traffic, try to go on a Friday and save yourself some $$. (Nothing has changed since we went in 2016, so check out my other review for more info if you're going.) read more

You know...I love the concept of watching balloons take off and land, but the execution here is meh. The parking situation is ridiculous. It took me almost 3 hours from Charlotte to get in here on a Friday evening. (no shuttles on this evening) The balloons didn't go up on time (thank goodness) which gave more people a chance to get in, but then it was so late that not that many went up. I gave up and parked at the Golf Course (still about a mile away from the launch) and rented a golf cart and bought a couple of beers and went and sat out on the back of the course and watched them come up over the trees. That part was beautiful. There were still people trying to get in even after the balloons were done launching. I won't go to this again. If you decide to go make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get in and out...oh, and bring your pee cup. read more

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Tips: don't forget chapstick, drop a pin (in your maps app on your phone) of where you parked, and bring hand warmers! Also, don't order the funnel cake on a windy day. The powdered sugar goes everywhere. They did check bags and strollers on the way into the field. VERY VERY kid-friendly event. It was pretty windy on the day we went, so the balloons didn't launch. HOWEVER, there was still a Light Show where all of the balloons were displayed and lit up. You could walk right up to all of the balloons--it was incredible. The website suggests you show up hours in advanced to ensure parking, but we showed up at the time the balloons were supposed to launch and had 0 trouble parking. Absolutely no wait. read more

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If I could give this negative stars I would. From arriving to leaving this event was extremely unorganized. We got arrived at the free parking at the fairgrounds at 4PM and didn't make it on the bus until 5PM. During that time they closed general admission if you didn't have a ticket. The line for the busses then cleared up a bit but again still took an hour to even board the busses. We arrived at the festival around 5:20 to which there was only two balloons up which were the ones tied down doing the rides. 6:30ish or around that time they started blowing the balloons up again doing the light off showings. No balloons were launched which is disappointing to the 30,000 people who attended. We started leaving around 6:45-7ish to go back to the boarding area to hop on the busses. At that time we were directed to get into two different lines or what I should say is what we thought were lines. Volunteers nor Statesville Police Department did ANYTHING to keep these lines in order and people from skipping to the front of the line. We and the group that was behind us had to tell volunteers and cops that this was happening and nothing was done about it. The group and I started yelling to get the police departments attention to then which one of the cops by the badge number of #4784 Officer Porter decided to threaten me and my friend with being arrested if we continued for creating a disturbance which we weren't doing. Eventually they decided to listen to everyone in line and put up some caution tape. Well that didn't do anything as people were STILL cutting the line with the police department not doing anything. They created a line with the caution tape and all the people who skipped ahead just jumped right over to the other side of that tape and no officers intervened nor did any volunteers. We ended up moving maybe 300 feet within an hour because of how unorganized this event was and the bus situation. 4 hours later we were finally on the bus. During that 4 hours of waiting in the cold nobody as in the volunteers nor officers could tell us why they were only taking line 2 and boarding them only. Finally we talked to a captain of Statesville police department who got the ball rolling with getting busses to line 1. Again this was an absolute mess and we will NEVER be back again. This was the first and most definitely the last with how unorganized this event was. It's a shame. Btw some of the officer said if you had problems or issues tonight to call the city and make a complaint. read more

If I could give this festival a 0 star rating I definitely would. The website provided entirely incorrect information from the admission price to the countdown clock on the website's front page. There was supposed to be a "mass ascension" at 4:30. There was one balloon that blew up until 6:00. There were supposed to be "tethered rides." There was one balloon taking people up and down about 40 feet. Then, there were four tour buses to transport 20,000 people to the free off-site parking. And, if you didn't purchase parking ahead of time, as in before the festival started on Friday, you were forced to park of-site. There was no organization to the bus "lines" and people just cut in front over and over and the staff of teenagers did nothing. As of right now, we have been standing in line for 2 1/2 hours and have been told it will be another two hours before we get back to our car. AVOID THIS FESTIVAL at all costs. read more

Pre-purchased event tickets for 5 of us this past Saturday and never even made it to the event. Followed the directions for parking online and arrived at the Park & Ride in Troutman only to be told it was closed because the shuttles couldn't handle the volume of people. Mind you, there were still available parking spaces in the lot. We then proceeded to the actual event site at the airport and waited in horrendous traffic for ~1.5 hours only to be told parking was sold out and we would have to leave and not attend the event. Reached out immediately via the website to request refund since we weren't allowed to park and attend. Tickets are apparently non-refundable regardless of situation. Their generic response is that patrons should have planned to arrive earlier, although tickets are not sold for specific entrance times. Additionally, their solution was to attend Sunday instead for those that weren't able to get in on Saturday. That's unacceptable as people in our party traveled from 4 hours away to attend on Saturday and couldn't stay for Sunday. A full refund is the minimum the company should provide to those of us that were not allowed to attend since they oversold the event. Very unorganized and poorly planned event. Super disappointing as this event has been taking place yearly over the past 40+ years. read more

Traffic backed up on surface streets for miles around. Almost couldn't get out of our housing development - and we live 3.7 miles from the airport. Turned around and went home when it became apparent we would never arrive at the fest. Tickets were sold out as of 1PM, but you wouldn't know it if you didn't check Facebook at that time, and parking - even at the fairgrounds miles from the event - was sold out as of 5PM. They clearly are unable to manage demand, and have no traffic management plan. No refunds - even when you physically can't get to the event. Heaven help you if you live on one of the roads closer to the airport. read more

Never even made it to the festival! Traffic was backed up for miles in all directions! Found out before entering that if you had not prepaid for parking you had to go to the Iredell Fairgrounds. Fairgrounds were 4 miles away. read more

This is a great festival. The chilly weather you have to dress for and best to bring a good large blanket resistant to dew for sitting on the grass and wrapping up in. EARLY MORNING like 7am at the latest is your best bet to see them take off &/or come back for the drop. The Night time glow is so cool. Unfortunately this year there were alot of wind issues and it doesn't take much! And yes, they are always improving the parking and shuttle service craziness. If you bring chairs for the grass you might use them in line too. Get your good wine and beer and wait until it dies down is my suggestion. Come bug us vendors & musicians. I don't stop face painting until everyone is gone. read more

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Im trying not to be too harsh but I was really dissapointed. It's promoted as rain or shine, even facebook replies from the event admin say rain or shine with out specificying that the ballons actually need more than just clear skies to fly. That should be made more clear and advertised that its a wide window until the balloons can actually launch. So single day ticket isnt a terrible price, but add parking and food, its a lot of money with little gaurantee that the ballons will launch. In NC in Oct, plan on all weather conditions and to be there all day if you want to see the balloons. For some thats not a big deal, but for ppl who have kids or have to leave for work or whatever, it kinda sucks to spend the money and not know what to expect. Also the only restrooms are porta-pottys and that's a hell no for me! read more

As first time balloon fest goers, we found it confusing to figure out where to park, as the only entrance we saw had signs posted for volunteers and pilots only. We circled around the area looking for the general parking and also saw tour buses that were obviously lost, too. We had an RV and dollied vehicle, and had gone down a road that was for prepaid parking only, but an attendant finally told us where we needed to park. We were concerned about going down a muddy lane with an RV. We were there around 12:30 on Sunday, the day turned out to be a great, warm, sunny day, and the mud dried out. We listened to lots of different kinds of music, and saw a cute magic show in the Kid Zone. The Kid Zone was well outfitted. There were a few winery tents with fair priced wines. The food, on the other hand, was ridiculous, at least what we got. We went to the greek food tent and for $20 got 2 SMALL gyros with 2 small slices of gyro meat in them and not fresh lettuce. It was light on the tzatziki sauce, too. We felt ripped off. So be prepared to spend $$ on food. They did launch the balloons which was great. The tethered rides were offered BEFORE the mass ascension, not like it was listed in the flyer and on the website. We wanted to take the tethered flight, but the lines for this were quite long. Sunday is military appreciation day, but I did not see or hear what exactly they did to show their appreciation. A discount would have been nice. Anyways, we were lucky that it was a great day for flying. Bring chairs, a little knapsack (they will search you) with some water & snacks if you can, because the store brand water is $2.00. Bring something to protect you from the sun, also. read more

Biggest Balloon lift in Southeast. Festival is a full weekend of fun activities, fantastic food, great music. Kids activities are free once inside, except face paint and balloon animals. Craft booths. If 21+ local wineries and brewers tastings and purchase. Get up close to balloons. Family friendly weekend! read more

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I've been two years in a row. Glad a new space is in the future but loved this event each time. Needs more to do between events for adult entertainment. read more

Finally went to BalloonFest, which has been an annual event for gosh-knows-how-long, but this was my 1st time (and according to people who go every year, this was the crowdiest year). I dragged along my 3 friends and we went out late morning on Saturday. For $15 a person (at the gate), we had hours of laying around, drinking ok-priced beer and wine, listened to bands (including an awesome Scottish band named Albannach - think Braveheart music, completed with men in kilt) and very very cool hot air balloon release & glow. I highly recommend this event for everyone (great for kids, but we were kidless and had plenty of fun still) - the perfect Carolina fall weather definitely helped. So here are a few things you may like to know: 1. Friday is the cheapest, $5, for half day (this is an afternoon/early evening day); Sunday is $10 but no evening glow; Saturday is the longest day. 2. Saturday is the busiest, best get there by 11am so you can park at the site. Otherwise you will have to park somewhere else and wait forever for a shuttle (AND you have to take that shuttle back, imagine the chaos at the end of the day) 3. Saturday event goes into the night, when they light up all the balloons (tied to the ground) - since they aren't flying, you can walk right up to it. Maybe I'm easily amused, but I thought it was very cool. 4. 1 beer tent but quick service - $4 for domestic can & $6 for craft 16oz local draft - BRING CASH, you have to get drink tickets at the nearby booth 5. PREPARE TO WAIT FOR FOOD - and by wait I meant 2 hours in line. $12 for a big chicken on the stick over rice. 6. Check website on more info: cannot bring cooler, but for the most part they are cool with bringing in snacks and water. Consider this event as a fall alternative to the more expensive Renaissance Festival. Proceeds from the balloon festival go to local charities (definitely makes me feel better about my beer consumption). read more

Worst event I ever attended. Directions to VIP parking were horrible. There were literally two Hot Air Balloons up when we got there at noon on Saturday and were up for about 20 minutes only. This was my first and my last time going. Took my grandchildren and they were really disappointed as was I since we had heard how fabulous this event was, we drove 5 hours for this event. Will not ever happen again. read more

There were beautiful balloons to watch. We went on Sunday morning and saw some of the balloons take off. After that, we just walked around. There was a very long line to ride the tethered balloon. Since it was Sunday, none of the beer or wine could be served til after noon. We didn't stay long, just walked around and left. read more

The balloons were beautiful. We had a great time until we left. We literally moved 10 feet in 1 hour and 45 minutes. We were in lower parking lot and the parking staff just said there was nothing they could do. Finally the police came and were able to get things moving-slowly. I see reviews of this event from previous years and they say the same thing. By this time people were losing it and no longer being nice to one another. It's a shame. My family left the event talking about how much they enjoyed it but by the time we exited the parking lot we all agreed to never come back. read more