New Jersey Festival of Ballooning at Solberg Airport
Balloon Festival · Readington, New Jersey
Four days in late July on a private airfield in Hunterdon County when about a hundred hot-air balloons launch in mass ascensions twice a day — THE LARGEST SUMMERTIME HOT-AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL IN NORTH AMERICA, running since 1983. The ascensions happen at dawn and in the early evening because those are the only hours the air is calm enough, and a hundred balloons inflating together on a grass field at six in the morning is the reason to be there. There is also a music programme, a funfair and a great deal of food. NOTE THAT FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR THIS IS A WORKING GENERAL-AVIATION FIELD WITH NOTHING TO VISIT.
39 Thor Solberg Road, Readington, New Jersey, 08889, United States
FOUR DAYS IN LATE JULY ONLY — outside the festival Solberg is a private general-aviation airfield with nothing for a visitor, and the dates shift slightly year to year. MASS ASCENSIONS ARE AT DAWN AND IN THE EARLY EVENING ONLY, roughly 6:00-7:00 in each window, because those are the only hours the air is stable enough to fly; there are no balloons aloft between them. ADMISSION DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN ASCENSION — sessions are cancelled for wind, rain, low cloud and storm risk, and whole sessions are scrubbed. Buy online, as gate prices are higher, and note that ADMISSION, PARKING, PREMIUM CONCERT SEATING AND BALLOON RIDES ARE FOUR SEPARATE CHARGES. Balloon rides cost several hundred dollars per person and weather-cancellation terms vary by operator — read them before paying. The night glow is the first thing cancelled.
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