Annual Events ~

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Preakness® Celebration Hot Air Balloon Festival

May 16 & 17, 2013, 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm Balloon Festival
May 16 & 17, 2013, 6:30 pm Balloon Launch
May 17 & 18, 2013, 6:30 am Balloon Launch

Enjoy our annual Hot Air Balloon Festival, perfect for young children and those young at heart. There will be family activities, handmade crafts, retail and food vendors, and live entertainment. Balloon related activities will include tethered hot air balloon rides, a walk-through of an inflated hot air balloon, pilot demonstrations, balloon launches and the nightly Balloon Glow at dusk.

On Saturday, May 18th, the Balloon Festival will culminate with the launching of the balloons at 6:30 am.

Admission to the Preakness® Celebration Hot Air Balloon Festival is free and open to the public. All parking is at the Howard County Fairgrounds, with a donation of $5 per car. Donations benefit the Elkridge Adult Athletic Association. Balloon rides and flights will be fee-based. Please call Ron Broderick, Balloonmeister, at 410-442-5566, to schedule your balloon flight!

For more information and Event-Day updates, call our Special Events Hotline at 410-465-1500 x2874.

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Check out this great look at Preakness® then and now from The Baltimore Sun: A Preakness Primer: 137 years of horses, hats and “high” society