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    Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic

    2.5 (37 reviews)

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    Launch area

    I attended the Saturday 6/4/22 event in Sonoma County Fair Grounds. It was big enough space for all the balloons there. At first we parked at the wrong place and wondered where's everyone, but then finally found the right spot by following the signs "EVENT PARKING" it didn't show where the disabled parking was but we saw it after parking at the main lot. It was a cold morning (the gate opened 3:50am although the event starts at 4am, so wake up earlier if you want to get a good parking). We were ready with blankets and hoodies. There were a lot of vendors for food and to keep your bellies full: coffee, hot cocoa, burgers, hotdogs and funnel cakes...there was even a vegan stall that served organic vegan coffee and such. Bathroom (decent) and porto-potties were available. At 5am most of the balloons (8-10 balloons at the time) were up. At 5:05am they started the Glow Show. It was magical for us first timers!!! Like every other review here there's not enough balloons to accommodate hundreds of people (so expect that, it's just facts) wanting to experience the tethered balloon rides. A lot of waiting in the line if you really wanted to do that. Weather permitting event always is depending on guess what? The weather. This time the balloons were not able to launch at the planned 6:30am because of the weather. We understood, it's for everyone's safety. All in all it was a great show. Will plan to do it again.

    Panoview and the Big Picture highlight of balloons on display
    Jason A.

    This event will always be weather-dependent; so for the page not to have a rating over 2-3 stars should be expected. This was the reason we booked a trip for my brother's Last-20 birthday over the weekend--but by far should not be the sole reason to drive up to Napa-Sonoma County or you'll be sorely disappointed. We attended the Saturday, June 9th display on a cold, breezy morning and were lucky enough to see the Glow Show on arrival. That included about eight balloons that were all taken down before 8am. Being HUUGE Star Wars fans, at least my brother and I were able to take a couple of shots of Derth Bater before the announcers decided to call it quits because of the gray-windy conditions. Not including the teathered balloon ride, count a total of 10 with Tomcat from Tom & Jerry that was inflated for a quick minute in the baseball field near the entrance. Yeah, it fell really, really, reallyreally short but waddayagonnado. We were more appreciative of the sleep we were gonna re-gain after waking up at 3am to drive to the thing. 'Least we can say we tried ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

    Balloon
    Tiffany H.

    I had higher expectations for this festival and was disappointed that the balloons didn't get much air time. Most of the balloons just stayed on the ground, and the ones that did fly, only rose a few meters off the ground and were tethered. I guess it wasn't really anyone's fault because apparently the weather conditions weren't very optimal for flying?!? Anyway, I woke up at about 3:30am, so that my friends and I could drive all the way north to Windsor. I don't really think this was worth the drive, but it was pretty interesting for me, since I got to see giant Bunsen burners and interesting balloons! There was an angry bird one, but we left before it was fully inflated. I also thought that we would have the chance to ride in a balloon, but I dunno. I think there was a line for that, but it was kinda long, and it was super cold outside so we didn't bother. I give this festival three stars, despite the balloons being a disappointment because the emcee was really funny and amusing. Hahaha I think he said something about people storing champagne in the basket just in case they land in someone's backyard, so they can give them the bottles as an apology. This may happen since it's hard to steer and people don't really have control over flying these things?!? I also thought that it was awesome how there were a good amount of food vendors selling nom noms because who really has time to eat a full breakfast before getting there on time at 5am? LOL. One memorable part was when I got to walk inside the balloon and see how big it was. That was pretty neat! This was interesting, but underwhelming, so go if you want, but if not, you're not missing out on much.

    Climbing into a hot air balloon! $10.00
    Nishad J.

    This is a great event! You have to get up really early to get there on by the opening (we woke up at 3:00am), but seeing all the balloons get inflated and learning from the hot air balloon owners about how it works is a fun experience! The event lasts from 5:00am - 11:00am, but it doesn't really start going until about 6:30am. Parking is on the street around the venue so be prepared to walk a bit before you get to the main launch area! Additionally, hot air ballooning is extremely weather dependent so on a hazy/cloudy day like the one I went on they don't actually allow the balloons to fly un-tethered. That said, you can buy a tethered hot air balloon ride on a classic balloon or a tweetie or sylvester balloon for only $10. The ride is quick (~2minutes long) and you just go up and down super fast, but I think it's a fun experience to have! The vibes at the venue are super chill as well. There is music as well as food trucks and stalls with mimosas, waffles, breakfast food, and carnival food! Overall it was a good time and I look forward to coming back next year when the weather is better!

    Deebs M.

    I would 0, if Yelp would let me!!!! Horrible hot air ballon show ever. There was no wind that anyone could possibly feel, but they wouldn't even do a glow of the balloons (blow up the balloons for display) till 7:30 am after waiting from 4 am! If could sense that they cannot do a launch, why to collect $18 per adult & $6 per child plus $5 per parking. Or I would have been ok if they at least did a glow show with the balloons blown up once at 5 am during their glow show (in which they were just displaying fire, that too in an uncoordinated fashion) and another time at dawn. As a photographer, I was very disappointed!! And for god sake they let all the people into the lawn area where they were trying to launch the balloons. And because of all those people, they could not even blow up the balloons! Why couldn't they install temporary fences in that area designated for launch? This event all together was just frustrating and intended to steal common man's money!! I had drove for 2 hrs starting at 2 am to be here at 4 am. Put up with all the lines and traffic surrounding the event and even to get a coffee!! All for nothing. Am only glad that I did not book the atrociously bumped up & expensive motel 6 room for the previous night to attend this annoying hot air balloon launch!!

    Sonia R.

    I really enjoyed this event. I drove down to Windsor and stayed overnight so that I could get to the venue about 5am. The event was pretty crowded. To me, the event was well organized. There were a huge selection of hot air balloons. There is an opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon (or stand in the basket). No, the balloons do not leave the ground; they are tied down by rope. I would suggest that patrons go stand in line early for the tandem hot air balloon rides. The line can get pretty long and moves slow. Not everyone in line will get a chance to ride in a balloon. My only gripe with the event is that is was supposed to end at 10:00; however, they started deflating the balloons for the tandem ride at 9:30 am. To me, they should have done this when the event was over, at 10:00 am. The event makes for an okay outing. I would attend the event again.

    Sophia K.

    For waking up at 3am and driving 2 hours and then getting stuck at traffic near the exit and almost not getting parking because the lot was full, it could have be a litttle more impressive. Or maybe my expectations were too high, but when they say they're going to release 30 balloons up in the air, I assumed it was going to be all at once and I was going to "ooo" and "ahh". On the bright side, we arrived a little before 6pm and it wasn't too cold or windy. You can stand in the field where they blow up the hot air balloon which is cool to watch, but then after a few, you get the idea. Aside from a couple of food and drink vendors, there's not too much to do except watch them blow up a balloon and send it up - and they did so pretty much one at time. Every time they sent a balloon up, it was pretty exciting, but the wait time in between is not (I'm not a very patient person). Go with people you like to hang out with because you'll need the entertainment in between. Also, when the balloons go up, they float away so you don't get to see all of them hanging out in the sky together. They do have tethered balloon rides, but the lines were 2+ hours. Pass. Overall, I'm glad I went this year to see it, but I don't know if it would be worth the early morning again for a second time.

    Phung D.

    Beautiful beautiful BEAUTIFUL festival! I wouldn't call it a festival but more like hot air balloons mini meet sorta thing. I didn't see much balloons like I expected but I still enjoyed the time we were there though! Presale ticket: $6 and you can print it online. Its just much easier if you had your ticket first because they had another entrance if you don't Last minute: $10 either online or when you get there Parking: $5 or free street parking outside and walk in For this year schedule, they started at 5A.M for dawn patrol. Not sure exactly what is but they had 4 balloons up at once and it looks pretty neat in the dark! 6:30-7:30A.M is when they prep for all the balloons to go up so whoever gets it up get to fly first. Therefor you won't see all of them up at once. 8:30A.M and on, there will be 4 to 5 balloons on the ground and you can line up to whichever one to ride it for $5. It's not worth it since its just lift you off the ground for a bit and you're done.

    6/10/17 windsor, ca 6:00 am
    Helen L.

    Waking up at 3 am, picking up people, arriving around 5:30 am. If not for the crowd , i would feel pretty dumb. Early means finding parking, freezing cold, and dips on free bag and balloons and emptyer restroom, scout out a grass space to hang out. Literally a guy brought his propane and made pancake breakfast for his party. Bring beach chairs and blankets to sit on grass and picnic breakfast. Its a wait for the balloons to arrive, inflate and fly off. $15 entrance fee if you go online. $20 at the entrance. Very long lines to go up a tethered balloon. Very long. Thank goodness for the extra pottys. So many young kids, strollers, big kids. Cute family affair, great to see at least once, expected more balloons but not that much. Two day event 6/10/17 and 6/11/17. Please come around 6 am or else it is not worth the trouble. After 7 am, most of the action is done and gone. Great photo opportunity. Took some great pics.

    First launched during star spangled banner on Saturday, June 14.
    Traci M.

    Glad to find out about this at the last minute. It made for an early morning, though was well worth it. Very creative balloons with easy viewing from Keiser park. The event was well organized. I purchased tickets in advance to park at Keiser, though it appeared the parking at the high school may have been easier to get in and out of. Portions of the proceeds appear to go to various non-profit organizations.

    Yoda

    I took my family for this event. We thoroughly enjoyed it. I have 2 kids (boys - 13 and 9) , both loved all the balloons and the overall atmosphere. We havent seen anything like it and hence loved it. we went there very early (4:30 am) and got good place to sit. Took a couple of chairs for my parents and a carpet for kids to sit on. We were ready with blankets and jackets. It was a chilly morning. If you want to go there, go prepared. Lot of people attend the event, so its a good idea to go as early as possible. The Dawn Patrol event will have 3-4 balloons which are big and they will light up in the dark. Looks nice ! After that there will around 45 mins of wait in which you can go around the park to different stalls, eat something, get some cofee, generally enjoy the atmosphere. The main event starts aroun 6 am, where there are lot of big balloons participate and its fun to watch. They allow you to go upclose to the baloons and watch them blow up. YOu can get good pictures with the balloons too. The big balloons look really awesome when they go up into the air. Remember that they dont offer rides in those balloons, you just have to watch them. If you want rides they have some separate area where you pay $10 and they will take you up 20-30 feet for 2 mins and bring you down. We did not take those rides since there are long queues and my kids were happy just seeing the balloons float in the air. We stayed at Santa Rosa , at Country Inn and drove to the event in the morning. The traffic was light. We got up at 3 am, got ready and went up there. Overall a good experience, everyone in my family enjoyed it !

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    I'ts alright. However waited 5 hours (from 5:30am to 11am) just for a 2 mins ballon ride is not worth it!

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    11 years ago

    Woke up at 4am, drove all the way there, and the guy comes on the speaker to say the balloons weren't flying! Wasted my entire day.

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    Ask the Community - Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic

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    Review Highlights - Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic

    Additionally, hot air ballooning is extremely weather dependent so on a hazy/cloudy day like the one I went on they don't actually allow the balloons to fly un-tethered.

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    Healdsburg Jazz

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    4.0
    (3 reviews)
    5.3 mi

    I'm pretty disappointed in Healdsburg Jazz. They seem to focus on money and not Jazz. My experience…read morehas mostly been in the SF Jazz community. Here, they don't seem very open to building relationships and seeking out and creating jazz experiences. They are consistently overpriced and I often leave disappointed. Marcus talks to much and the organization tries to manage its members, rather than focusing on creating events that blow the listeners socks off. It's very sad.

    What unfettered fun! Sit outside in lawn chairs enjoying food and wine while listening and…read morewatching to professional Jazz bands! It's all history now, but the afternoon's experience changed many of us who attended: We want to do it again and many of us want to go to New Orleans to see first hand what we sampled! (It would have been a hard sell to get me on a plane to New Orleans before I heard the Dr. Michael White Quartet.) There are many venues during the Healdsburg Jazz Festival - this one was New Orleans Jazz hosted at the Dry Creek Winery on Lambert (Laaaaaambert!) Road. Three groups performed: Russian River Ramblers are a local group of musicians which play traditional music (All of Me). MJ's Brass Boppers Brass Band played an eclectic repertoire that included brassy riffs that caused individuals to get up from those comfortable lawn chairs and dance! The last performance was Dr. Michael White Quartet. Dr. White prefaced each tune with a bit of interesting history on the piece of music and jazz history in New Orleans. One of his original pieces was "Sunday Morning" which Dr. White composed after the Katrina flood that devastated New Orleans. He explained that jazz bands in former times would parade through neighborhoods playing on Sunday morning to lead people to church. I'd never heard that before, but the image of a parade of people following a jazz band to church on a sunny Sunday morning is a good one! The highlight of the performance was when Dr. White was off on his clarinet solo when accross the street, someone's car alarm goes off. I instantly had homicidal thoughts about the car's owner to ruin Dr. White's magnificent solo... when I noticed a nearly imperceptible change in tempo and Dr. White incorporated the car horn into his riff!! Pitch and tempo of the car horn was as if that car horn was designed to accompany the music. That was a dandy demonstration of improvisation that I will not likely forget for a very long time! I hate large crowds. This crowd was small and festive. People I enjoyed being with. I do not know if all the events at Healdsburg Jazz Festival are as good as this one, but if they are half as good, this is an experience worthy of anyone's time.

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    Russian River Wine Road Barrel Tasting

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    4.4
    (35 reviews)
    4.9 mi
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    March Madness, STEP ASIDE! There's a new star in town…read more Sonoma's annual Barrel Tasting brilliantly shined this past weekend. My besties and I, along with our significant others, spent a weekend getaway in wine country (Happy Birthday Shannon K.!). Whether you know the difference between a Syrah/Sirah, able to detect the delicate floral/fruit/wood/nutty notes, or even the proper way to swirl your glass (pinkies down)--this event doesn't discriminate. Newbie or seasoned wine connoisseurs have one thing in common--ability to sip wine to optimal merriment! We wine-hopped to about 9 wineries in two days--sampled wines directly from the barrels, chatted with winemakers and inhaled the beautiful Russian River Valley scenery. (The wet weather didn't rain on our parade!) Highlights: + DeLoach Vineyard: We packed a picnic lunch on Saturday and feasted at their outdoor wooden tables. There was also a wine barrel making demonstration and I was amazed to see the whole process was hand crafted! { photos to come } (I just assumed machines were somehow involved) + Wilson Winery: Try their award-winning Zinfandel Molly's Vineyard at this charming, historic winery. + Francis Ford Coppola Winery: Hollywood meets Wine Country. A wine wonderland. You get excellent pours+taste, sausage dogs, breath-taking views and music. Movie-goers: take a stroll through the castle and see many of Coppola's famed movie (Godfather, Dracula, Apocalypse Now) artifacts, including his multiple Oscars(!!!!) on display. + Simi Winery: I'm longing for their Late Harvest Riesling (tastes JUST like liquid honey. Bzz bzzzz~) and their homemade tater tots. FAIL PROOF Equation (It doesn't take a math genius to figure this out) Friends + Food + Laughs + Wine + Asian Glow + Sonoma Barrel Tasting Event = BEST weekend Sonoma's annual Barrel Tasting is an event that should NOT be missed. Grab your loved ones and plan a weekend getaway to this wine and R&R oasis. You still have this weekend March 11-13 left!!!! { photos to come }

    I'm not a wine snob. Hell, I'm just as happy drinking wine out of a jug at a mom and pop Italian…read morerestaurant as I am finishing a $100 bottle. But I am a bit of a snob when it comes to wine tasting. One of the reasons that I love Healdsburg so much is that it lacks the crowds and overall Disney on crack vibe that has overtaken Napa. Unfortunately, I saw these crowds en masse at my beloved Healdsburg during Barrel Tasting. I witnessed bachelorette parties, people getting high in the parking lot of a winery and more party buses and limos than I thought existed in Northern California. Food was scarce at most stops (although Bella had a huge spread and Ridge featured one of the biggest hunks of cheddar I've ever seen) and most wineries had lines to get into parking lots and more lines to taste. Some wineries were definitely more organized than others (big props to A. Rafanelli) and while I still had an amazing time (hell, it was in the 70's and I was wine tasting with friends!) I doubt I'd return again during Barrel Tasting weekend.

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    4.4
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    We had such a fantastic wine tasting experience at Paradise Ridge, and a huge part of that was…read morethanks to Kevin. He was warm, knowledgeable, and made the entire tasting feel relaxed and engaging without ever being overwhelming. He explained each wine and the regions they came from in a way that was easy to understand but still really interesting--perfect whether you're a casual sipper or more into the details. The standout for us was the 2019 Zinfandel--bold, smooth, and just really memorable. Definitely the one we're still talking about. Beyond the wine itself, wandering through the sculpture gardens added something really special to the visit. It's such a peaceful, beautiful setting and made the whole experience feel more like an afternoon escape than just a tasting. Honestly, Kevin made it. We'd come back again just to have another tasting with him. You are full of Aloha. Mahalo!!!

    Paradise Ridge is soooo dreamy. I attended a company dinner party here and was really impressed by…read morethe wine and views. The vibe is cozy, relaxing and just the right amount of fancy. I had way too much wine and took a million pictures because the scenery demanded it. The food was kind of underwhelming and not worth noting, but honestly, the wine and scenery more than made up for it. Also the staff were friendly, attentive and heavy on the pours making the whole night indulgent and fun. Overall 9/10. Good venue for a company gathering.

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    Town of Windsor

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    5.0
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    0.7 mi

    The Christmas lighting at the Winterstown Green was amazing. So many lights and so many happy…read morepeople around. This is my favorite time of year. It seems to bring people together and just makes everyone so joyful and friendly for the most part, Windsor community is amazing and so united, but for events such as this one, it truly shows how united we are as a town. It looked like Disneyland last night and I truly enjoyed every minute of it getting to the event is super easy. You park at the high school and they shuttle you over to the town green and then at the end of the night you get back on the shuttle and they drop you off at the parking lot and you head home. So easy and not stressful at all and you don't have to deal with parking that way I love seeing all the different decorated trees by different businesses. I love Christmas time in Windsor.

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    Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic - festivals - Updated July 2026

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