Here’s what to know about the Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival

The Big Marble Go Centre, Kin Coulee Park and the cricket field are among several sites that pilots will gather for launch.

The festival has taken place annually since 2021, and has grown each year with 30 balloons at this years event, up from 23 last year and 16 the first year.

Flight times

Balloons are scheduled to take off at 6 a.m. each day from Thursday to Sunday.

Evening flights are scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday to Saturday.

The locations from where the balloons depart will be ahead of take-off, depending on wind direction.

Flights will be delayed or cancelled in the case of inclement weather.

Organizer Willy Taillon told CHAT News that safety is the number one priority when determining if each flights will go.

“We look at a lot of factors, weather systems that are coming in, obviously the ground winds,” Taillon said.

“When we launch, we have to land in those winds as well. So that’s why we’re up early, right when the sun is rising. It’s usually the most calm time of the day and the winds are the best for flying,” he added.

“Then in the evening, we’re just waiting for that wind to calm down throughout the afternoon. But we’re also chasing that sun that’s trying to set as well. So leaving that window where we can have a good flight.”

Those interested can tune into pre-flight safety briefings live on the festival’s Facebook page, a new feature for this year.

Special events

There are also special events planned for Friday and Saturday.

The festival is hosting its Dusk Balloon Glow events at about 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in Kin Coulee Park.

The balloons are inflated and illuminated but remain on the ground so people can see them up close.

Saturday is jam-packed full of activities.

The festival’s Community Day event gets underway at 9:30 a.m. with the Hues for Humanity Colour Run.

The Medicine Hat Public Library is hosting the Rise Up Market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

An art party and yoga for all ages will run at the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Food trucks will gather from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Towne Square, as well.

The historic Monarch Theatre is playing Inside Out 1 and Inside Out 2 throughout the afternoon.

The Medicine Hat Skateboard Association is hosting a pair of “skate skools” and a free barbecue on Saturday at the Kinsmen Skate Plaza.

The skateboard lessons run at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., with games, prizes and the barbecue scheduled for 6 p.m.

More information is available on the Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival event page.

How did it start?

Willy Taillon and his wife, Cindy, started the annual Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival in 2021, in partnership with addiction and mental health non-for-profit, Our Collective Journey.

After Taillon’s first experience in a hot air balloon, he fell in love with the magic of the ride and decided to become a pilot, according to the Our Collective Journey website.

After attending his first hot air balloon festival, he realized how “uplifting” it felt to be in a setting that brought such joy, the description said.

After that experience, he and Cindy decided to bring a similar festival to Medicine Hat so their community could feel the same joy.

Our Collective Journey was selected to help ensure the event is uplifting in more ways than one.

by CHAT News Staff

Here’s what to know about the Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival

Flight times

Special events

How did it start?

Our Community