Hot air balloons return to area for 25th annual Bluff Balloon Festival

Hot air balloons will take to the sky this weekend in southern San Juan County. It’s anticipated 25 balloons will make a spectacular sight over Bluff, as the weekend marks the 25th annual Bluff Balloon Festival.
The annual balloon festival is organized by the Business Owners of Bluff and occurs each January during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.
This year’s festivities run Friday through Sunday with plenty of balloon watching for the public to participate.
Flights are scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, each morning balloon pilots will meet for a pilot’s briefing to determine if the weather conditions are safe enough for flight.
Balloon rides are Friday and Saturday morning in Bluff at 7:30 am and on Sunday morning 25 miles west in the Valley of the Gods.
Non-balloon festivities kick off Friday evening with a Navajo Taco supper from 5 to 7 p.m. The dinner will benefit Bluff Elementary School and will be held at the school.
Hot air balloons will again fly over Bluff on Saturday morning. Following the flight will be a full day of free activities starting with an Art Fair at the Bluff Community Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday evening marks the Evening of Fire and Ice from 4 to 7 p.m. at the community center. The glow-in will include several balloons blown up at dusk while remaining tethered the balloons float above the ground to make a beautiful sight at sunset and early into the night.
The Evening of Fire and Ice also includes an Ice Cream and Chili social from 4 to 6,  with music by Neon Nativez starting at 5 p.m.
Sunday morning a caravan of balloonists will leave the Bluff community center at 7 a.m. to drive south for flights in the Valley of the Gods to conclude the festival.
While viewing the balloons and participating in the on-the-ground events are open to the public, riding in a balloon is not. To fly in a balloon, you must be a festival sponsor. Those sponsorships have sold out.
While flights are scheduled each morning they may be pulled due to weather conditions. Each morning a pilot briefing is held to advise pilots on weather conditions for the day.
If weather conditions are poor, a decision may be made at the briefing to determine whether or not balloons will fly that morning.