“Things Are Really Looking Up” for the H-E-B | Central Market Plano Balloon Festival & Run that is celebrating its 43rd year on September 23-25. The City of Plano is the Official Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas and this annual ballooning tradition will be held at the Red Tail Pavilion / Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve. The three-day weekend features more than 30 colorful hot air balloons, a RE/MAX parachute team exhibition, live entertainment on the FOX4 Main Stage, a spectacular fireworks show, marketing sponsors, food concessions, arts and crafts vendors, a kids fun zone, and more!
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PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL BOARD CANCELS 2021
The Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 H-E-B Central Market Plano Balloon Festival that was scheduled for September 17 – 19. With the continued increase in COVID cases, specifically the Delta Variant, the Festival board and staff has considered the health and safety of our Festival pilots, attendees, volunteers, sponsors, and vendors our top priority. In making this difficult decision we are mindful of the extremely large number of families that attend the event, the majority of which have children under 12 years of age.
Providing a safe environment for everyone that visits the event is crucial, especially for our youngest attendees. Safety has been at the forefront of our Festival from the very beginning and that will not change. This was not an easy decision, but the right one to make. We deeply appreciate the support of our partners, sponsors, and the community; and look forward to the best festival ever in 2022.
PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL RECOGNIZED IN TEXAS AWARDS CEREMONY
The Plano Balloon Festival Inc. was recognized for 13 awards during the virtual 2020 Kaliff Marketing Awards ceremony that aired live from the City of McAllen and was livestreamed throughout Texas. The entries submitted were for events held between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020 and the competition includes more than 40 categories.
“2020 brought about many challenges to all of us across the State and across the Country. While the pandemic kept us apart, it did not keep us from finding new ways to come together, reconnect, reimagine, and recreate. We were able to bring our communities together in celebration, as we do through our events through TFEA,” stated Joe Vera, Chairman of Texas Festivals & Events Association.
CENTRAL MARKET PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL CANCELED
The Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Central Market Plano Balloon Festival that was scheduled for September 18-20. In these uncertain times, the Festival board and staff considered the health and safety of Festival attendees, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, and pilots a top priority. The Festival is extremely mindful of the large numbers of balloon pilots that come from all areas of the country, attendees drawn from the DFW area and beyond, supportive sponsors and vendors, thousands of volunteers, and on-site contractors. Providing a safe environment for everyone that visits the event is crucial. Safety has been at the forefront of the Festival from the very beginning and that will not change.
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PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL NAMES CENTRAL MARKET AS NEW TITLE SPONSOR
Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. announces Central Market as the new title sponsor for the annual event set for Sept. 18-20, 2020. The three-day Festival, which began in 1980, has grown into the largest hot air balloon event in Plano and within the Lone Star State. The City of Plano is the Official Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas and hosts more than 90,000 attendees during Festival weekend at Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve.
The Festival and Central Market are both passionate about creating unforgettable experiences for people within the community. Central Market initially stepped in as a sponsor of the Kids Fun Zone, then the Plano Balloon Festival Races, and in 2019 served event attendees fresh food, like their signature grilled cheese sandwiches from a food concession booth at the Festival.
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INTOUCH CREDIT UNION PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF BALLOONING
The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival is celebrating 40 years of ballooning in Plano during the three-day weekend that begins September 20. This annual festival is held in the City of Plano, proudly known as the Official Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas. More than 85,000 guests are expected to attend this 40th birthday party set in Plano’s largest park, the Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve.
“This is our birthday year and we are extremely excited about it! The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival brings in pilots from all around the country and offers our community a low-cost, family fun event. The City of Plano does an outstanding job of supporting this event each year.” says Executive Director, Jo Via.
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6TH ANNUAL PLANO PEANUT BUTTER DRIVE
During the month of September the North Texas Food Bank is collecting regular-sized, plastic jars of peanut butter to help spread hope in Collin County. The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival will accept donations at the entrance gates September 20-22, 2019 at Oak Point Park in Plano. Admission is free for kids 36″ and under and $5 for ages 3-12 years.
The goal this year is for the City of Plano to collect 100,000 pounds of peanut butter. There are over 44,000 food insecure children in Collin County. The NTFB will accept peanut butter alternative donations during the food drive.
SOAR TO LEGACY WEST FOR FREE FESTIVAL TICKETS
If you like to fly where the wind blows then you’ll want to soar to Legacy West on Thursday, September 5th for an uplifting photo in their “Big Sky” balloon! The Plano Balloon Festival team will be on-site to greet and answer questions about the InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival coming up September 20-22, 2019. We’ll also be there giving away two free tickets to each person who snaps a selfie between 11:00 a.m. and Noon (limited quantity while they last during this promotional event).
The Big Sky Balloon photo op is located directly across from Neighborhood Goods in Legacy West on Windrose Avenue. Directions and a map with parking garages provide more information for easy access to the location.
Visit Plano is also giving away an exciting weekend package that includes: a 1-night stay at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Plano/Richardson, 4 tickets to the festival, VIP parking, a $50 restaurant gift card, and a picnic basket full of goodies.
InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival Celebrating 40 Years Of Ballooning
TEXAS RUNNER AND TRIATHLETE LISTS PLANO BALLOON RACE IN TOP 5K’S IN TEXAS
The Plano Balloon Festival 5K is ranked as one of the Top 5K’s in Texas by Texas Runner and Triathlete as seen featured in their Winter 2019 issue. Their list includes 34 races within the Lone Star State to receive recognition. If you’re wondering how many there are in Texas each year, then you might want to note that Running In The USA had 1,068 5K races on their calendar for 2018. Only five of those are in the City of Plano.
“This race is worthy of being one of the top five 5K’s in Texas for several reasons and from varying perspectives. For some participants it is all about the bling and our finisher medals are bright, colorful, big and feature a hot air balloon for each year of the race, so in 2019 we will have nine balloons on them. For others it is about the festival atmosphere, there is so much to do and experience at the race plus it is very family friendly. For everyone it is about seeing hot air balloons launch above you as you are running/walking the course. These are just some of the things you can’t get at any other 5K in Texas.” – Eric Lindberg, Chief Running Officer of On Your Left! Marketing & Events.
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CHARITABLE SPIRITS LIFT UP THE PLANO BALLOON FESTIVAL
Throughout the 39 years of producing this annual tradition within North Texas, the Plano Balloon Festival, Inc. has never experienced such a devastating loss. The Festival is not a large corporate entity, but rather a 501(c)3 non-profit organization led by 13 Board of Directors. The sadness, and significant economic loss, is shared with the 58 local non-profits, 75 vendors, dozens of sponsors, pilots, crew, and more than 5,000 volunteers who were committed to the event.
The Festival mission is to produce a family-oriented ballooning event to benefit the community. The objective is to also offer other non-profits an opportunity to assist with the operations of the Festival and raise funds. These agencies work the gates, parking lots, kids fun zone and the races. For their services these non-profits are compensated a portion of the revenue. However, this year they earned no money to apply towards their impactful programs within the community.
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