Labor Day weekend full of hot air balloons

Harvard, in Illinois, was celebrating Labor Day weekend with its very first annual hot air balloon festival. The event was scheduled on the Sunday and Monday of the weekend, with a variety of entertainment planned for guests, in addition to the balloons themselves. Although many of the attendees had paid for balloon flights, the balloon-maestro had to cancel them due to inclement weather. The guests who had paid for a balloon ride received a refund, while the operators set about organising plan B. Although there was a ban on flights, the festival operators organised a night glow, which involved all the balloons being lit up with the fire which keeps them afloat. As the balloons were tethered and secured using cars and weights, attendees at the festival were able to get up close to the balloons, experiencing the intense heat from the burners. Some of the balloons were set up so that visitors could see the 20-foot-high flames which erupted from the heat emitters once protection had been put in place. As the balloon operators were preparing their balloons for the festival, food trucks, vendors and entertainers were busy keeping the guests happy with music, food and games, including a velociraptor who liked posing for photos. As Balloons Around the World Day was on 5th October, there may be more festivals taking place around the world, to celebrate the increasing popularity of the hot air balloon. Taking a balloon flight is a great way to see the world from a new perspective.