Plano Balloon Festival Colors the Sky
Before planes, helicopters or space shuttles, man had one waybrto take to the sky: the hot-air balloon. More than 200 years ago, King LouisbrXIV gave his blessing to the first unmanned hot-air balloon flight. Today,brhot-air balloons come in all shapes and sizes, and you'll be sure to see morebrthan a few unusual flying objects at this year's Plano Balloon Festival.
Join thousands of spectators as abrkaleidoscope of 50 hot-air balloons take to the sky, including the array ofbrspecial-shape balloons, including Cosmos the Astronaut, Joelly the Little Bee,brBetty Jean the Butterfly, the Old Lady and her Shoe and Pigasus the Flying Pig.brBalloon launches are scheduled for Friday at 6:00pm, Saturday at 7:00 a.m. andbr6:00 p.m., and Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Don't just go for the dazzlingbrviews, though. The festival grounds, open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 6 a.m. to 10brp.m. Saturday, and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, feature attractions and events tobrplease the whole family all day and night. For kids, the Fun Zone includes inflatablebrrides just their size, a rock wall and obstacle course as well as an arts andbrcrafts activity area, music exploration with the Plano Symphony Orchestra and,brof course, face-painting.
Little ones and their parents arebrsure to enjoy viewing more than 100 antique, classic and modified cars, trucksbrand motorcycles on display, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Don't miss thebrRE/MAX skydive team performing at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. And Friday andbrSaturday night, take in a fireworks show in the sky alongside a balloon glow atbr8 p.m. Fleet-footed balloon enthusiasts should not miss the Saturday half-marathon,br5K and 1K runs, offering plenty of views to distract the road-weary from thebroccasional side-stitch.
Perhaps you've been lucky enough tobrspot a lone balloon on the Texas horizon early one Saturday morning, but thebrexperience of watching a staggered balloon launch at the Plano Balloon Festivalbris not to be missed, and the additional attractions are sure to keep everybodybrentertained.