Ashland Balloonfest 2023

Ashland and I have history - I got a speeding ticket years ago which sidelined my love for driving immediately  - a license suspension that ended right when the pandemic began.

I drove the speed limit the whole way there.

We ended up getting there around 3:00PM - there were some signs but no parking help. We had the GlowUp passes that included parking, so we watched for a bit to figure out where to go - but ended up literally parking next to the gate - perks of being insanely early?

Later on in the day we noticed they had attendants out helping people park. It did get so much busier than we had expected - very cool event indeed. Unfortunately the weather conditions (wind) did not allow for the hot-air balloons to take off - it was still a blast.

The GlowUp was really neat - they let you out on the field (upsell tickets to an otherwise free event.) Each balloon pilot and sponsor would answer questions and talk with people - they even gave out collectors card's of their balloons - like baseball cards or the ones you sometimes get at car shows.

This was a big hit with the kids - I personally thought it was pretty cool, too. It was the first time I had been in front of hot air balloons ever in my life. I'm even thinking of trying to sponsor the event next year in some capacity for my business.