Monday, September 19, 2011

Balloon Glow - The Great Forest Park Ballon Race

Friday night we went to the Balloon Glow portion of Saint Louis' Great Forest Park Balloon Race. It is amazing!

I think everyone should go at least once (but if you never choose to go again after that, I wouldn't blame you). The kids loved it and I'm glad we finally went.

I'll give a play-by-play because I had only heard bits and pieces before going. The Balloon Glow starts at 7:00 pm. We arrived at Forest Park at 5:30 pm. Forest Park was already packed (we actually needed to go somewhere by Forest Park one year during the actual race day - you can't even get into Forest Park by the afternoon on race day). We parked a good 30 minute walk away from the field with the balloons.

I read to bring a blanket. We did. People spread blankets out waiting for it to start. You could have a picnic, buy food and souvenirs, or visit booths. People are pretty packed together.

We ate in the car when we got there so we wouldn't have to haul so much stuff. We did get a funnel cake though as a treat. These treats are exactly why I have to go on diet starting tomorrow. I was suppose to start this morning, but I ate some left over cake at 10:30 am. Oh well, I've heard you're not suppose to start diets on Monday anyway.

At 7 pm, all the balloons begin to fill. It's kind of an awe-inspiring moment seeing all these huge balloons fill before you. This is also when everyone who is not in front stands up, so I'm not sure why we all bring blankets to sit on in the first place (probably because we get there so early).



After the balloons fill you can walk among the balloons (pick up and take your blanket with you). Every few minutes a horn will blow and the balloons will light up at the same time. It's beautiful!
The kids will love it!




The night ends with fireworks! My kids were very excited. This was a great experience! However, there are TONS of people, not enough port-a-potties, and for some reason it felt like it was a lot of work.

5 comments:

Jen@Because I can said...

Glad you had fun! We didn't stay for the fireworks...I didn't even know they had them. We didn't get there until about 6 and had to park on Lindell. The next day we went up again and drove around for about half an hour looking for a spot and actually found one by the skating rink that was closer than the one we had the night before. Which isn't bad considering we got there at 3:30. It was fun, but the glow is better.

Heather (Paralyzed with JOY!) said...

You got some great pictures – it looks like you guys had a really fun time. Maybe you'll be ready to venture out to the balloon glow again in another five years or so!:)

Heather said...

I can't believe all the fun things you have done this summer with your kids. We definitely need to come see you guys!

jamie @ [kreyv] said...

That looks so cool. We were totally going to go, but then we couldn't. We'll have to go next year!

Anne Burnett said...

Everything is more exciting with kids. So many places I wouldn't care to go, or experiences I wouldn't care to have are totally worthwhile when I watch my kids having such a great time. And I love the last picture with Casey and Ethan - so adorable!