Rise & Shine and have a good time with more than 30 hot air balloons at the H-E-B | Central Market Plano Balloon Festival on September 18-21. Among the special shapes includes Ms. Autumn that is a giant pumpkin with a massive green stem, and Barnstormer that features a cow, horse, pig, farmer and silo; representing the American farmers that feed our great nation. Voluntold is a historical nod to the first balloon flight in 1783 and pilot Gary Moore has incorporated a sheep, duck and rooster into the design to honor the passengers who originally flew and safely landed. Ziggy the Raccoon is ready for adventure, Bud E Beaver weighs 700 pounds, and fans will adore seeing Lovebirds, Fire Dog, and Police Dog on the field.

Pat Cannon is the esteemed festival Balloonmeister who will ensure the safety of the pilots and oversee flight operations. Cannon began flying in 1967, served as an Army helicopter pilot, is a two-time U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Champion, World Championship Competitor – U.S. Team, holder of the FAA Wright Brothers Award for 50 Years of Flying, and the current President of the Balloon Federation of America.

Exciting attractions during the Festival include the RE/MAX of Texas Parachute Team Exhibition, Classic Car Show, and Spectacular Fireworks by Pyrotex presented by BMW on September 18-19 and Thomas J Henry on September 20. The FOX4 Main Stage will host a special concert by the Plano Symphony Orchestra, Ice House Band presented by Baylor Scott White The Heart Hospital, Midtown 10 Band presented by Portillo’s Beef Bus, and the Plano Community Band.

The Central Market Kids Fun Zone has cool carnival rides, sensational inflatable slides, and the Whataburger Kids Korner Free Art Tent offers craft activity stations.

Feed your cravings with freshly fried funnel cakes, turkey legs, and a Conway’s corndog in the Food Court, or get an “everything hot dog” from the Portillo’s 32-foot long Beef Bus.

22 local non-profit agencies, 35 merchandise vendors, 40 sponsors and 23 food concessionaires invest and support the Festival with their on-site activations and presence.

FESTIVAL DATES & HOURS

September 18 – 5:00 – 10:00 p.m.
September 19 – 4:00 – 10:00 p.m.
September 20 – 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
September 21 – 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Opening day is Thursday, September 18 and the four-day festival weekend continues through Sunday, September 21. TICKETS are available online or at the gate.

Admission, tickets and parking pricing:
• $10 General Admission
• $5 Kids Ages 3-12
• $5 Seniors 65 and Over
• FREE for Kids 36” and Under
• FREE for Military with a valid ID
• $10 Off-site Parking and $15 Prime Parking
• $20 All Day Kids Fun Zone Ride Wristband
• $50 VIP Plano Symphony Orchestra Concert

Experience a hot air balloon with a Tethered Ride that takes you up in the air hovering 20-30 feet above the ground for several minutes, but doesn’t fly away. This is just the right amount of time to get the feeling of floating, capture colorful photos and videos, and check “ride in a hot air balloon” off the list of things to do this year. Passengers must sign a waiver, be at least six years of age and tall enough to see over the edge of the basket. Rides are offered during the festival and all balloon activities are weather permitting.

FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS:

Volunteer Chase Crew Registration – Sign up to volunteer as crew for Special Shape Hot Air Balloon Pilots that have traveled from out of town in order to participate in the festival. Assist with inflation, static display, glow, and learn with hands-on experience about ballooning. All volunteers must be 18 years of age or older and able to lift 30-40 lbs. Volunteers may be 15 years of age or older if accompanied by a parent or guardian.

National Honor Society Volunteer Registration – Sign up to volunteer at our Admission Gates distributing Child ID Bands or in the Whataburger Kids Korner Art Tent and helping little guests enjoy the craft stations.

General Volunteer Registration – Sign up to volunteer as a general festival volunteer assisting with crowd control on the launch field, recording ice sales in each vendor zone, or one of the many areas we need volunteer support. All volunteers must be 18 years of age or older.

The Festival presents the participating hot air balloons and pilots:

Spirit of H-E-B – Amie Cato, Paris, Texas
Central Market Whisked Away – Matt Robison, Fort Worth, Texas
Highly Cool for FOX4 – Keith Berry, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
RE/MAX – Steve Lombardi, Edgewood, Texas
Excellence – Billy Broker, Plano, Texas
IMON8 – Jeff Abel, Haslett, Texas
BarnStormer – David Adler, Belgrade, Montana
In The Buff – Plains Capital Bank – Barry Ballinger, Lubbock, Texas
Thomas J Henry – Josh Cato, Paris, Texas
Airview A/C – Michael Celentano, Frisco, Texas
Police Dog – Brian Chase, Moscow, Pennsylvania
Wash – TJ Davis, Montrose, Colorado
Ms Autumn – David Eichorn, Belgrade, Montana
Ziggy – Mike Fielding, Oak Point, Texas and Michael Wilson, Hickory Creek, Texas
Texas Twister – Josh Goll, Longview, Texas
Bud E Beaver – Colin Graham, Belgrade, Montana
UpRohr 2 – Dave Griffin, Frisco, Texas
Hale Yeah – Shane Hale, Lewisville, Texas
Mike’s Balloon – Steve LeMay, McKinney, Texas and Clayton Kemp, Frisco, Texas
Fired Up Too – Michael Marx, Prosper, Texas
Lovebirds – Trevor Matejowsky, Dallas, Texas
Freedom Breeze – Collin McClung, Longview, Texas
Voluntold – Gary Moore, Havasu City, Arizona
Ultramagic – John Petrehn, Arlington, Texas
Pi In The Sky – Tabatha Rainwater, Knoxville, Tennessee
Up Rohr – Brian Rohr, Lucas, Texas
Fire Dog – Tom Russo, Monroe Township, New Jersey
No Problemz – Robert Snyder, Austin, Texas
North Wind – Kerry Speicher, Longview, Texas
Dawn’s Light – Lillian Speicher, Longview, Texas
Chick-Fil-A Lil Nugget – Scott Vesely, Frisco, Texas
American National Bank of Texas – Lowell White, Forney, Texas
Icarus – Eric Wiggins, Longview, Texas

The H-E-B | Central Market Plano Balloon Festival is proudly sponsored by H-E-B, Central Market, RE/MAX, BMW, Thomas J Henry, Portillo’s, Baylor Scott & White the Heart Hospital Plano, McKinney, Denton, Whataburger, FOX 4, and MORE 27.

The Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. takes place in an outdoor, uncovered venue and has a NO REFUND POLICY. In the unlikely event the Festival is suspended or cancelled due to inclement weather, city, state, national, or local public health concerns/restrictions, force majeure or other causes beyond Festival control there will be no refunds or a rescheduled date. When severe weather conditions exist in close proximity to the Festival grounds, we may choose to delay the event for an hour or more, before deciding to cancel or proceed. The onsite attendees safety is our primary concern. If weather conditions dictate, we may have to cancel a specific day’s activities. If the weather conditions improve, we will evaluate the forecast and re-open the Festival.

The Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 organized for the purpose of staging a premier community-based and family-oriented hot air balloon event, offering other local non-profits volunteer opportunities within the Festival operations. The Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. makes a direct impact on the Collin County community by dispersing funds to participating non-profit agencies and has donated more than $3 million since inception.