In the 39 years of producing the beloved Plano Balloon Festival, we have steadfastly measured success on two fronts – the number of people we are able to wow with the beauty of hot air balloons, and the dollars raised by the non-profits who rely on the success of the festival to meet their annual fundraising goals. Sadly, mother nature took it upon herself to intervene, and 2018 will not go down as a banner year on either front.
A three-day outdoor festival in Texas is a wildly ambitious endeavor, but we are not deterred. Our mission is to provide nonprofit agencies an opportunity to raise funds and awareness for their programs and services, which ultimately enhances the quality of life for all North Texans. The Festival has circulated more than 3 million dollars back into the Collin County and Plano community. Supporters and friends of the Festival, people like you, choose to give through corporate sponsorship, ticket purchase or race participation so we can hold true to our mission year-after-year.
Because of the unprecedented weather event on Friday night we were faced with an agonizing decision to cancel all events including the races for which people had invested months of training. With the severe flooding in the park and outlying areas, continuing any of the planned activities would have created an extremely unsafe environment for race participants and volunteers. As a result of the flash flood that swept through the park, more than 50 non-profit organizations, that are near and dear to our hearts, were unable to sell concessions or reach their audience. For that, we are broken-hearted.
The Festival Team is most appreciative of the 5,000+ volunteers who annually come out to the festival, work one shift, two, or the entire weekend, meet new people and have a great time. Every year men, women, and young adults generously volunteer their time and energy to make sure the event runs smoothly and that our guests have an awesome time. Please come back next year when we are sure to have beautiful weather…we hope.
It is an honor to produce a bucket-list event that brings families near and far to celebrate hot air ballooning and welcome the changing season to North Texas, while supporting something bigger than ourselves. We are deeply grateful for your patience and understanding as we move forward. As we like to say at the Festival, “onward and upward.” We hope to see you in 2019, as we celebrate forty years of ballooning in Plano and Collin County.
The Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 agency and we want to say THANK YOU for your gift to our organization through your registration, ticket purchase or sponsorship. While your registration is non-refundable, we are prepared to offer you a 50% discount on registration for 2019. Simply use the code: SUNNYDAZE when registering.
The code will remain available through the end of the year, along with the lowest registration pricing for the year. To take advantage of this offer, simply register at: www.pbfraces.org.
We would like to offer our race participants the opportunity to pick their medal and exchange shirt sizes. Below is a schedule with dates, times and locations.
FORT WORTH
Wednesday & Thursday, September 26th and 27th from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (during the Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest 5K Packet Pick Up
Academy Sports + Outdoors – Fort Worth
1701 S. Cherry Lane
Fort Worth, TX 76108
FRISCO
Friday, September 28th from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Saturday, September 29th from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday, September 30th from 12:00 pm to 4:00 PM
Run Texas – Frisco
West Side Market
5480 FM423 at Lebanon, Suite 500
Frisco, TX 75034
DALLAS
Monday, October 1st from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Tuesday, October 2nd from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
On Your Left! Marketing & Events – Dallas
10606 Shady Trail, Suite 104
Dallas, TX 75220
PLANO
Saturday, October 6 from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday, October 7 from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Academy Sports + Outdoors
4045 N. Central Expressway
Plano, TX 75023
If you live outside of the DFW area please reach out to us via email at info@oylmarketing.com to make arrangements to have your medal mailed to you.
Thank you for your participation in the Plano Balloon Festival Races and we hope to see you in 2019. We love seeing the photos of the runners who got out and made their own race to earn the medal. Please tag #PBFRaces on Instagram or Facebook so we can share them on our sites.
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So there will be no balloon fest at all this year… What about those that purchased tickets?
Why are are there no Plano locations for a Plano race to pick up the medals?
What about a Plano pickup location?You know, for the Plano Balloon Festival…
I’m a broke college student and only reason why I spent $20 on 2 festival tickets for my gf and I despite the rain I saw in the forecast Bc I knew we could at least do some events tht were “rain or shine”. But…. apparently that’s a lie and instead of offering a refund, you decide to give us only 50% off next year? Not even a free ticket for next year to reimburse my cost?
2018 general admission tickets purchased online are valid for admission to the 2019 InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival. We hope you’ll celebrate our 40th this September!
Why was there no pickup in PLANO