General Info / FAQs

Visit our Ticket Page for pricing on Ticket Packages and the Gondola Club. Tickets purchased online offer quicker access to the event. Online tickets may come from ThunderTix, please check your spam/junk folder if you received your receipt, but not your tickets.

If you made a donation, please be patient - your tickets will arrive. It may take a few minutes.

Tickets are the same price at the gate but are CASH ONLY.
Parking is $10.00 and not part of General Admission Tickets.

NO PETS - NO SMOKING EVENT

Saturday, 5/27: Event Gate 3:30 PM - 10:00 PM - Parking will open at 3:00
Sunday, 5/28: Event Gate 3:30 PM - 10:00 PM  - Parking will open at 3:00

This is a working farm. There are no paved or smooth roads or paths. The area is filled with all the clumps of grass, divots, and bumps you should expect to find on a farm. You may choose to rent an electric Mobility cart. These are provided by Mobility Concepts, LLC near the main entrance.

If you wish to fly in one of our balloons, please contact the pilot of your choice directly to make arrangements. All of our pilots are listed below along with their contact information. If you do not see any contact information for a particular pilot, they are not offering rides. Rides are $275.00 per person. This is non-negotiable. You will meet your pilot at the Balloon Operations Tent inside the venue. Payment is made directly to the pilot. The pilot will have you sign a waiver before your flight. Tethered rides will be offered at $20 for adults and $10 for children under 12. Cash only. Tethered rides are done on a first-come-first-served basis. Please go to the Tethered Ride Tent for Tickets and signing of Waiver.

A high-flying flag will clear up any uncertainty about whether balloons will fly during the festival this year.

There is a 20-foot flag pole near center field. During each flying event, there will either be a green, red or yellow flag raised on the pole.

A red flag means “no go,” and all flying events that were scheduled for that particular session are canceled.

A yellow flag means "We’re on hold". Usually, that hold is because of the weather. 

The decision on which color flag to fly is made by the Balloon Safety Office and Balloon Weather Officer before each flying session. 

Your teens are at a potentially vulnerable age. We encourage you to talk to them about how to make wise decisions surrounding their health & safety while attending events with thousands of people. We especially encourage you to attend with your teens. Many parents have also found that volunteering with their teens can be an excellent way to experience the event together. If you want to be a volunteer, please complete our Volunteer Application.

There is plenty of parking at the festival site, right off of E River Road. General Parking is $10.00 per vehicle.  Parking is paid in cash upon arrival at the event and is not included in the event general admission price.

If you are looking for a hotel, we strongly suggest your favorite search engine as it will help you find something that meets your needs much better than we can. Also, check out Franklin County Tourism Development Authorityfor additional locations in the area.

We will be offering Dry-Camping during the event. We have a limited number of sites available on a first reserved first served basis. Reserve Your Camp Site Now

You may leave the venue to go back to your car if necessary. Please go to the ticket booth and ask them to scan your ticket when you leave. This will enable you to reenter. If your car leaves the parking lot, you will need to pay to park if you return.

Trash bins are located throughout the venue. Please use them.

Coolers, bottles, and food are NOT permitted on the festival grounds for safety reasons. The festival provides an assortment of unique foods in our food area.

NO PETS! Service pets will be permitted if they are for the service of the human they are with. Please check service animals in at the Ticket Booth upon arrival.

You may bring a small parasol, rain umbrella, or small sunshade (less than 5'x5'). Anything that obstructs the views of others or has poles (solid or collapsible), such as Beach umbrellas, tents of any kind, sun shelters of any kind are not allowed. Do not bring them or you will have to return them to your vehicle.

Hot air balloons are very delicate and require just the right amount of wind. It may seem like a calm day but the weather is always a factor in deciding if the balloons will launch. Safety is our priority. Typically hot air balloons fly during the 2-3 hours after sunrise and the 2-3 hours before sunset when winds are at the calmest. You will not see hot air balloons flying during the middle of the day. Look for balloons after 6:00 PM

The event will continue if it rains. In the event of lighting or severe weather, you will be asked to return to your vehicle.

Drones are not permitted anywhere in or over First Fruits Farm. It is a safety measure for our air entertainment and our guests. There are no exceptions to this policy.

To keep the focus of the event on our mission, we allow only nonprofit organizations whose primary mission is targeted at veterans and/or military families, to display or set up a tent in the venue.

If you are a food vendor and want to have a spot at the event, please submit an application by clicking the Food Vendor button on the main screen.  It will not appear or work if all the spots are filled.

If you have homemade products you want to sell in our Maker's Market, please click the Maker's Market Button on the main screen. It will not work if all spots are filled.

We will sell tickets for tethered balloon rides at the event only when weather conditions have been approved for tethered rides. Tickets will be available at the tethered balloon tent, beginning about an hour prior start time - pay attention to the balloon flight status flags.

No. If you need to smoke, please do so inside of your car in the parking lot. Absolutely no litter. Absolutely no smoking in the balloon area. Discarded lit cigarettes or embers from ashes could melt or damage the balloon’s fabric. The entire field is grass, and we will take smoking seriously as a fire hazard.