Balloon Fest 2014

 

This August marked my third summer in Centralia, but my first time visiting the annual Balloon Festival. For three days these hot air balloons, maybe 30 of them, congregate in Foundation Park for display, and races, and general festival activities. There’s food vendors– the usual summer carnival fare here like corn dogs, funnel cakes, tacos in a bag, but this time there was also one selling gyros, which reminded me of NYC so of course I got that one! There’s also a huge craft fair with hundreds of vendors selling hand-made everything: chessboards, clothing, candles, soap, blankets, jewelry, paintings, sand art… We bought three air freshener jars called Smelly Jelly- one for the bathroom, one for the kitchen, and one for the bedroom (lemongrass ginger).

The best part of the festival is the evening “Balloon Glow”, where all the balloons light their fires simultaneously, against the backdrop of the August setting sun. The balloons by the lake reflect off the water (see photos). It really is a sight to behold!