The Friday night Balloon Glow at the Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival does not launch. The balloons stay on the ground at the Wallaceville site in High River, tethered, and the burners do the work.
Crews start with cold-air fans, walk the envelopes open, then fire the burners until the baskets tip upright. The field stays closed while that happens. Once the lines are clear, the barriers come down and you walk in among them. On a cool September night the heat off the baskets is real, and when several burners hit at once the sound is closer to a dragon than a propane torch.
Pilots come from across Canada, the northern U.S., and further. The Glow itself is free, no ticket, usually Friday evening. Flight days around it are weather-dependent. Check heritageinninternationalballoonfestival.com before you drive.
The walk-through, from the fan start to the raw burner audio once the crowd is on the field, is up on the KassDays channel:
Balloon Glow High River
High River is a short run south of Calgary. Get there before the barriers drop if you want to watch the uprighting.
See you on the road.
Kass
