5th annual Hot Air Balloon Festival takes flight in Cathedral City

Cathedral City’s annual Hot Air Balloon Festival takes flight bright and early today, with hundreds of balloons set to populate the desert skies over the weekend.

The fifth annual festival starts at 5 a.m. Friday with a pancake breakfast and more than 35 hot air balloons taking off from Big League Dreams Sports Park. Guests can watch the balloons inflate across three ball fields before they race across the Coachella Valley skies for prizes. The event will also include tethered balloon rides for the public.

The festivities will continue Friday night with the Balloon Glow Concert and Swing Dance, with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performing beneath the glow of a dozen hot air balloons in flight.

Saturday morning begins with a balloon launch at the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, as well as tethered rides in downtown Cathedral City. A slew of activities will be available in the downtown area, including the Food Truck Mash-Up, featuring food trucks from across the state, the Banana Balloon Candy Drop, which gives kids the chance to snatch up to 10,000 pieces of candy that will be distributed across the city’s festival lawn, the “Balloonapalooza” concert, and more.

Sunday concludes the festival with another balloon launch, sending more than 35 balloons above the Coachella Valley.

For tickets and more information, visit here.