Sitting on a picnic blanket, a family of four relaxes as they munch on huge slices of juicy, seedless watermelon. Classic rock ballads pour over the loudspeakers and the smell of barbecued foods wafts throughout the air.

All around them, giant hot air balloons decorated with hypnotic kaleidoscope patterns float together collectively up into the sky. The sunset casts a light shade of bubblegum pink across the field. As the festival draws to a close, individuals can be heard gushing about what a wonderful time they had and how they cannot wait to come back next year.

For 26 years, the Ashland Balloonfest has been making individuals gaze in child-like wonder as balloons cover the sky.

Besides just taking in the gorgeous view of all the hot air balloons flying high up into the sky, the BalloonFest also possesses many activities to stay busy. Between watching the balloons, listening to live music, embracing one’s inner five-year-old and jumping in a bounce house inflatable, or even pigging out on fried foods, there is something for everyone at the Ashland Balloonfest.

This year, the event took place on June 30 and ran through July 2. The fest was located at 1256 Center Street in Ashland, Ohio at Freer Field.

 With events beginning as early as 7 a.m., individuals had enough to keep them thoroughly entertained throughout the remainder of the day.

Danielle Smenda, a senior at Ashland University, and her significant other attended the Ashland Balloonfest for the first time.

Instead of one’s typical date night of dinner and a movie, the two thought it would be a great idea to venture out and try something that they have never done before: go to a hot air balloon festival.

“I heard about the [balloon] fest through social media and by seeing other people’s [photos] who had gone in the past,” said Smenda. 

Derek Stallard, a junior at AU attended the festival for the second year in a row, but this time, wanted to show off the event to his friends.

“I took a picture of some [balloons] that were pretty colorful; they were yellow, blue, and red and very symmetrical,” said Stallard. “There was [also] a balloon from my hometown of Seville, [OH] so I was sort of biased with that one.”

During the festival, due to poor weather conditions, there was not enough wind produced in order to send the colorful array of balloons up into the air.

Although they could not be viewed in the sky, visitors were welcome to come and see the balloons up close and personal.

“I definitely thought that I would get to see the [balloons] go into the air, so it was kind of a bummer that they never went up,” said Stallard. “I never realized how big they were; they are huge. “It is overwhelming when they have thirty [balloons] together and you are walking through [everything].”

From sweet kettle corn, gooey mozzarella sticks, juicy hamburgers, refreshing lemonade, and so much more, the Ashland Balloonfest offered a variety of fair-like foods for all to enjoy.

“They had a ton of different food trucks; I got a turkey sandwich on a croissant and a funnel cake with powdered sugar,” said Smenda. “Both were really good.”

 Sophomore Katherine Fossaceca is a History and Political Science major. As an Ashland native, she has visited the balloon festival an impressive total of ten times over the years.

“I was really excited to see how many people were there,” said Fossaceca. “I always hope to see the “Purple People Eater” balloon; it is my favorite,” said Fossaceca.

The Ashland Balloonfest hosted many unique hot air balloons, ranging from checkers, to stripes, rainbow print, and dazzling graphic designs. Some of the balloons even featured cartoons.

All three individuals simultaneously agreed that they had a lot of fun and would definitely attend next year. Additionally, they all said that if given the opportunity someday, would ride in a hot air balloon.

For more information on next year’s festival, visit the official website: http://ashlandohioballoonfest.com.