Hot Air Balloons Will Fill the Sky Over Lewiston-Auburn This Weekend

Hot Air Balloons Over Lewiston-Auburn

If you’ve never watched a bunch of hot air balloons take off at the same time, the Lewiston-Auburn Balloon Festival seems like a pretty good reason to get up early. It’s happening August 21–23 at Simard-Payne Park in Lewiston, and the balloons are definitely the part I’d be going for.

The Balloon Launches

Weather permitting, the balloons are scheduled to launch at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. There will be a mix of traditional hot air balloons and some specialty-shaped ones, so every launch should look a little different. You can watch them from the park or even catch them floating over different parts of Lewiston-Auburn.

One detail I thought was really cool is that balloons don’t have a set landing spot because they basically go wherever the wind takes them. If you live nearby and have a large, safe open area, you can actually put a white sheet on your lawn to let balloon crews know your property could be a possible landing spot. There’s no guarantee one will land there, but imagine looking outside and seeing a hot air balloon coming down in your yard.

After Dark

Friday night also has a Moon Glow from 8:30–9 p.m., when tethered balloons stay on the ground and light up as their burners fire. If the early morning launch isn’t your thing, this might be the one to catch.