Up, Up and Away..........

Saturday, June 21, 2014

If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, there's still time to get out and enjoy the Saratoga Balloon and Craft Festival taking place at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds in Ballston Spa.

We went yesterday at 3:00 and purchased a Weekend Pass so that we could possibly go back today for the sunrise launch. Although there were around 150 craft vendors and live music, the day dragged by. We enjoyed listening to Studio Two, a Beatles Tribute Band and shared a grilled cheese sandwich from this food truck....

There weren't a large number of food vendors and there weren't many spectator most of the day until around 7:00 or so last evening when it seemed the majority of people were arriving for the Balloon Glow. The wind was too brisk (over 8 mph) to even inflate the balloons and consequently the planned launch never happened - as we've learned is sometimes the case. Naturally we were disappointed after hanging out for 5 hours. By 8:00 after spending the morning doing yard work, we had both had enough and left before the Balloon Glow which wasn't taking place till 8:45 or so.

This was as inflated as they got - this one inflated this much, probably so the kids attending weren't totally disappoionted.

We set our alarm for 4:15a.m. this morning and knowing the weather was calm and conducive to a launch, we made our way to Ballston Spa, arriving at 5:15. By 6:15 the balloons began inflating and launching in succession until about 14 (out of the advertised 20) had all launched. It was a beautiful sight and worth our ungodly wake-up call. The Festival continues today with another launch at 6:00 p.m. (weather permitting) and another launch again tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. If you care to, you can go up in a tethered balloon for $20 for adults and if money is no object, you can go for a balloon ride for about $225. If you've been to the Queensbury Balloonfest in September, you'll be happy at the considerably less crowd - partly due I believe to the fact that this is a first for Ballston Spa and partly due to light advertising. Admission is $10 for adults, children under 17 are free. There's entertainment all day and a special "Kid Zone" with face painting, pony rides and games for the kids. It's a perfect weekend - if you haven't been to the big ones with 80 balloons and if you don't like crowds, this would be the one to attend. Here's just a few of the many photos I took this morning. For more information, please use the link at the end of the photos.