Snowmass hot air balloons allowed to fly

Hot air balloons can once again fly at the Snowmass Balloon Festival this weekend due to significant rain during the week, event officials announced on Friday morning.

The festival will kick off Friday night with the Night Glow from 6 to 9. Weather permitting, over 30 balloons will take flight from 7 to 9 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, a press release states.

“I think the community vibes will be even higher this year knowing that it was grounded and now they have the potential to fly,” Sara Stookey Sanchez, public relations manager for Snowmass Tourism, said Friday morning.

She added that people were disappointed in the wake of the balloon festival grounding last week, though she thinks the community would still have supported it regardless. Since announcing the balloons’ permission to fly, Sanchez said Snowmass Tourism has already seen a lot of excitement from the community. 

“Now that the balloons are allowed to fly, weather permitting, I think the community is super stoked,” she said. 

Before the rain helped improve conditions, the balloons were grounded last week due to high fire danger and extreme drought. Fire officials had expressed concern that balloons, which are powered by open flames and hot burners, could stray from their launching site at Snowmass Town Park and land in areas where an accurate wildfire response would be difficult, given the extreme fire conditions.

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To account for limited parking availability this weekend, Snowmass Tourism encourages guests to park at the Brush Creek Park & Ride and take the Snowmass Village Shuttle to Snowmass Town Park. Parking spots at Snowmass Town Park and within the Base Village Parking Garage will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

Beginning with the Night Glow on Friday night, guests are invited to walk among glowing, tethered balloons “set against a mountain backdrop” and can access concessions and free glow items. The balloons inflate around 7 p.m.

Coffee, pastries, as well as limited-edition t-shirts and posters, will be available on Saturday and Sunday mornings. There will also be a Kids’ Zone, with balloon-themed coloring books, as well as free giveaways including special-edition playing and trading cards. 

A Spanish language translator will be at Guest Services to answer questions. 

“I think now,” Sanchez said of the weekend, “people are super excited.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.