The 40th annual NJ balloon festival is July 28-30. Here's what's new
The New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning started with 10 balloons at a Bloomsbury truck stop off Route 78. Forty years later, it’s hosted Grammy Award-winning artists and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers on the live stage, and grown into the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America.
About 165,000 are expected to attend the three-day event, which takes place Friday, July 28, to Sunday, July 30, at Solberg Airport in Readington.
“It’s not your father’s balloon festival that we were doing 30 years ago," said executive producer Howard Freeman. "In my 30 years, I think this is the best value.”
Seventy-five balloons, including Darth Vader, Yoda and a snow bird penguin take to the skies twice per day. There's also a birthday cake balloon marking the festival's 40th year, and a replica of the first hot air balloon flight, featuring a sheep, a duck and a rooster.
Weather permitting, the balloons take flight at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. A nighttime hot air balloon glow will also take place at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets are $32 to $40, $12 to $15 for children. Tethered balloon rides can be booked for $25; hot air balloon rides are $275 to $325.
“Look at the balloons, but also look at the amazement in your kids’ eyes and that’s what makes it all worthwhile,” said Freeman. “I don’t care if you’re 1 or 91, you will still have that look of amazement when you see those balloons come out of little bags and start to inflate — all those different shapes and colors. That, to me, is the most spectacular time of the festival.”
One of this year's new elements includes performances by the Fearless Flores Family, who made it to the quarterfinals of “America’s Got Talent: Extreme.” Throughout the weekend, they will perform death-defying stunts, as 12-year-old daughter Viana and 20-year-old son Volorian ride motorcycles in the “Globe of Death” giant metal ball, and mom Arcelia performs acrobatics.
A performance by Arcelia will also start the Trinity Solar Running With the Balloons 5K Race at 8 a.m. Sunday, which benefits the Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization.
Another new element is The Dazzling Drone Light Show that replaces the usual fireworks display at 9:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Presented by Progressive, 300 drones will showcase balloon history, the 40th anniversary of the festival, and even form a QR code that visitors can scan for a chance to win a free trip to Antigua and Barbuda.
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Plus, more than 200 vendors will be onsite, including Jarritos Sodas where visitors can sample five sodas; Beyblade Burst Battle Series where visitors can battle one another; Ghirardelli which will offer packaged s'mores kits; and I LOVE NY which will offer an interactive tour of New York.
Live music includes Laurie Berkner, a children’s recording artist who’s been called “the Adele of the preschool set”; KC and The Sunshine Band (“Get Down Tonight,” “Shake Your Booty”); Everclear ("Santa Monica,” “Father of Mine”); Lit (“My Own Worst Enemy”); and Fitz and the Tantrums ("HandClap"). Parth Oza, the festival’s first-ever South Asian celebrity, will also perform.
Concert lawn seating is included with every ticket. Visitors interested in closer views can reserve seats for an additional cost.
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On New Jersey Lottery’s CASH POP! Summer Stage, located on the Lottery Land entertainment complex, eight tribute bands (to Bruno Mars, Led Zeppelin, Kenny Chesney, Grateful Dead, the Zac Brown Band and more) will perform.
The festival began in 1983, when millionaire adventurer Malcolm Forbes, newspaper publisher Tom Curley and friends brought 10 hot air balloons to the Union 76 Truck Stop on Route 78 in Bloomsbury.
The gathering became a small festival, then moved to Solberg Airport in 1985, where it became a larger festival attracting 40 balloons and 40,000 people over a 10-year-period. In 1993, sports promoters Freeman and John Korff took over the event.
“When we look back at some of the experiences, artists, balloons and different things that we have had, it’s been a walk back in time,” said Freeman. “It feels special to celebrate the 40th anniversary — but I don’t feel a day over 25.”
Go: New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning, Friday, July 28, to Sunday, July 30, Solberg Airport, 39 Thor-Solberg Road, Whitehouse Station section of Readington; $32 to $40, $12 to $15 for kids; balloonfestival.com.
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ balloon festival returns July 28-30 in Readington
