# Event Details - **Event Name**: 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival - **Event Start and End Date**: Fri, 28 Aug, 2026 at 05:00 pm – Sat, 29 Aug, 2026 at 09:00 pm - **Event Description**: Our 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival is back! When: Friday, August 28th 2026 5:00PM to 9:00PM Saturday, August 29th 2026 from 6:00AM to 9:00PM Where: Norton Park, Plainville, CT 06062 ? Friday Evening Highlights: • 5:00 pm - Festival opens with Arts & Crafts Show / Rides / Food Trucks, Buses start running • 6:00 pm - Live Music starts • Dusk - Balloon Glow (Weather Permitting) • 8:45 pm (ish) - Fireworks Spectacular begins ? Saturday Fun Begins Early: • 6:00 am - Hot Air Balloon Launch (Weather Permitting) • 9:00 am - Arts & Crafts Show opens • 10:00 am - Buses start • 10:00 am - 3:00 pm - Car Show (Trophies at 2:00 pm) • 10:00 am - 3:30 p.m. and/or 3:30 pm - 9:00 pm - Unlimited Ride Bracelets available • 6:00 pm Hot Air Balloon Launch (Weather Permitting) • 9:00 pm - Festival Ends FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. HOW MUCH IS THE ENTRANCE FEE? There is no entrance fee, as the event is held at a public park. That said, you should bring your wallet, as there will be craft and art vendors offering a variety of products to purchase, rides and bounce houses that you can purchase tickets for, as well as purchasing food from the many food trucks that will be present. 2. HOW MUCH ARE BALLOON RIDES? The Plainville Fire Co. does not provide or arrange for balloon rides. Many Hot Air Balloons that are present are considered “experimental” and cannot offer commercial (paid) rides. If you reach out asking how much a balloon ride is, or how you can arrange one, we won’t be able to assist you and you will likely not receive a response. 3. IF IT RAINS, IS THERE A RAINDATE? No, there is no rain date. If there’s a light rain, most of the activities will happen as planned. Keep your eye on our Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival Facebook page for updates. 4. ARE PETS ALLOWED? Pets are HIGHLY DISCOURAGED. This is a high energy, crowded event which can be loud at times, and may cause many pets to become agitated and upset. 5. ARE DRONES ALLOWED? Please, NO DRONES! They are extremely dangerous to balloons! 6. IS THERE HANDICAPPED PARKING? Yes. There is very limited handicapped parking in a grass field close to the crafters and food trucks. To better allow access and help minimize the traffic impact to roads and neighborhoods, please have your placard visible BEFORE getting to the Broad St./South Washington St. intersection or else you will be diverted to keep traffic moving. 7. IS THERE GENERAL PUBLIC PARKING? Yes, but not at Norton Park. All public parking is off-site. There will be no public parking at Norton Park on Friday, August 28, and Saturday, August 29, except for the 6:00 a.m. Balloon launch on Saturday. Cars MUST BE REMOVED from Norton Park by 9:00 a.m. Please review the Parking information on our website for the list of parking lots and addresses, which is subject to change. 8. HOW WILL THE PUBLIC GET TO/FROM THE PARK? If you’ve been reading the previous FAQs, it’s probably not a surprise that we will transport you via bus from the off-site parking areas to Norton Park and back. There will be a fee of $5.00 (cash only) per car at the parking areas to help defray the rising costs of busing. 9. WHERE WILL THE BUSES DROP OFF & PICK UP PEOPLE? Drop off and pickup will be on South Washington St. between Norton Park Rd and Madeley Ct. 10. HOW WILL I KNOW WHICH BUS TO GET ON? There will be staff on hand to point you to the appropriate buses. Buses will go to specific lots until after the evening entertainment each night, when all buses will go to all parking lots (so you can jump on any bus). This is subject to change, so make sure you look for updates and look for the signs! Lines will start from Madeley Ct. so when you leave, follow the signs. We have received a lot of feedback, both good and bad about the bus lines and how smoothly things are or are not running. As you can imagine, after the fireworks, things can get chaotic with everyone headed towards the bus lines. Please follow the signs, wait in line, and be patient. We have 30 buses running continuously to bring you back to your cars. 11. CAN I BRING MY DOG/PET ON THE BUS? See #4. This is a high energy, crowded event which can be loud at times, and may cause many pets to become agitated and upset. Service animals are the exception and will be allowed to ride on the bus. 12. ARE YOU SURE WE WON’T GET STUCK IN TRAFFIC? No, as this event continues to grow in popularity, more people attend. Thousands of people from all over the state (and New England) come to this event. That said, we’ve spent considerable time with the bus company and worked with several Town Departments including the Plainville Police Department to develop a traffic plan that is very effective for minimizing traffic. Buses will have a dedicated route to follow that avoids the major highways and intersections. 13. WHAT ABOUT THESE FANTASTIC FIREWORKS I KEEP HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT? The fireworks show begins at approximately 8:45 on Friday night. This is highly dependent on the weather. Please do not make your plans around arriving exactly at 8:45 to see the fireworks, as they may go off earlier or later. 14. HOW CAN I GET REAL-TIME INFORMATION REGARDING THE EVENT? There is a Facebook page for the event which is updated during the weekend (as we have time) with details on weather, cancellations, and other information. We STRONGLY encourage you to ‘like’ our page in order to receive information as opposed to phoning the Plainville Fire Company. Our page is named ‘Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival’. You can also follow us on X at: https://x.com/PlainvilleFire. There is a Hot Air Balloon tab on our Plainvillefireco.com web page as well. 15. I DROVE (INSERT NUMBER OF HOURS) TO GET HERE AND THERE ARE NO HOT AIR BALLOONS, WHAT GIVES? Believe it or not, Hot Air Balloon are very dependent on the weather in order to fly. The optimal time for them to fly is early morning and right before dusk. There’s a very science-y explanation for this, but if you’ve come looking for balloons, they will be there Friday evening at the Balloon Glow, and at the 6a.m. and 6p.m. launches on Saturday. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/plainville/39th-annual-plainville-fire-company-hot-air-balloon-festival/200029923306203 - **Event Categories**: festivals, food-drinks, music, nonprofit, car-shows, live-music, art, entertainment, fireworks, dog, science-fair - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 42888 ## Ticket Details ## Event venue details - **city**: Plainville - **state**: CT - **country**: United States - **location**: Norton Park, South Washington St, Plainville, CT, United States, Connecticut 06062 - **lat**: 41.66226 - **long**: -72.87502 - **full address**: Norton Park, South Washington St, Plainville, CT, United States, Connecticut 06062 ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/13c93d2d90ece2af04d0bc6c8b4745f4c86c8df0710047102e1b95f974383602-rimg-w1200-h1600-dc384858-gmir?v=1787326468 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival being held? - **A:** 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival takes place on Fri, 28 Aug, 2026 at 05:00 pm to Sat, 29 Aug, 2026 at 09:00 pm at Norton Park, South Washington St, Plainville, CT, United States, Connecticut 06062. - **Q**: Who is organizing 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival? - **A:** 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival is organized by Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival is ideal for festival lovers, culture enthusiasts, and anyone looking for a vibrant, immersive community experience. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Plainville, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. With 42,800+ people already showing interest, this is clearly an event worth adding to your calendar - don't miss out. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Festival", "name": "39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/13c93d2d90ece2af04d0bc6c8b4745f4c86c8df0710047102e1b95f974383602-rimg-w1200-h1600-dc384858-gmir?v=1787326468", "startDate": "2026-08-28", "endDate": "2026-08-29", "url": "https://allevents.in/plainville/39th-annual-plainville-fire-company-hot-air-balloon-festival/200029923306203", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Norton Park, South Washington St, Plainville, CT, United States, Connecticut 06062", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "name": "Norton Park, South Washington St, Plainville, CT, United States, Connecticut 06062", "addressLocality": "Plainville", "addressRegion": "CT", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "41.66226", "longitude": "-72.87502" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Our 39th Annual Plainville Fire Company Hot Air Balloon Festival is back!\n\nWhen:\nFriday, August 28th 2026 5:00PM to 9:00PM\nSaturday, August 29th 2026 from 6:00AM to 9:00PM\n\nWhere:\nNorton Park, Plainville, CT 06062\n\n? 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