Plainville Fire Company

Hot Air Balloon Festival

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. We’ll try to get a list of any balloonists offering rides and publish to our website as they become available. Please do not call/e-mail us about arranging a ride.

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 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 at 3 different sites. There will be no public parking at Norton Park on Friday, August 22, and Saturday, August 23, 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.  There will be a fee of $5.00 (cash only) per car at the parking areas to help defray the rising costs of busing.

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.

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 signage and staff on hand to point you to the appropriate buses. The plan at this time is for buses to 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 more than 20 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 9:15 on Friday night. This is highly dependent on the weather. Please do not make your plans around arriving exactly at 9:15 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 6:00 a.m. and 6p.m. launches on Saturday. Said another way, you won’t find any Hot Air Balloons at 12:00p.m on Saturday, but you will find a classic car show with all sorts of fancy and unique cars!

16. WHERE IS THE PLAINVILLE FIRE COMPANY FOOD TENT AND WHERE CAN I GET MY FRIED DOUGH?

Unfortunately, this year we’ve made the decision to not set up our Food Tent. As you can imagine, the time, effort, and number of people required to prep, cook, and serve the thousands of people that attend is immense. Even with the enormous support we get from volunteers, we’ve decided to focus on areas where we know we need improvement, like the bus lines and parking. We’ve increased the number of food trucks (to almost 30!) to help offset the food our tent served. Hopefully we can bring it back in the future, but we know you’ll find something delicious to eat while you’re there. We’ve brought in a huge variety of different types of food, so there’s something for everyone, and supporting these food trucks helps to support us too!

17. I CAN’T MAKE IT ON FRIDAY. WHAT ENTERTAINMENT DO YOU HAVE AVAILABLE SATURDAY NIGHT?

That’s a great question. Historically, we haven’t done much in the way of entertainment, with the exception of some great bands and musical performances on Saturday evening. This year, in celebration of our 140 years of volunteer service and dedication to the town of Plainville, we’re doing something extra special. We’re bringing in a professional Drone Light Show starting around 9:00 p.m. We know this is going to be a spectacular performance and we hope you can make it!

18. WHY ARE YOU HAVING A DRONE SHOW IF YOU’RE TELLING ME NOT TO BRING MY DRONE?

We’re working with professionals (maybe you’ve seen them on TV, hint hint) to put on an awesome display for you. They have the training, the necessary permits, and safety equipment to make sure this is done safely. Additionally, they won’t be flying when the balloons are in the air.

We hope these FAQs have been both fun and information. For more information, please visit our website and follow our event page on Facebook.