Henrico SkyGlow - Richmond, VA
Henrico Skyglow was the first hot air balloon festival held in the Richmond area in years. It was held in Henrico County and included 10 hot air balloons. Also, the event included live music performed on the central stage with food trucks along the front and left sides, tethered hot air balloons in the back and the Skyglow Balloons along the right side. There were two play areas for children and a large area for setting up chairs and picnicking.
Festival Features
Henrico SkyGlow offered hot air balloons, live music, and play areas.
Tethered Balloon Rides
There were two hot air balloons offering the tethered rides which consisted of boarding a balloon and going up in the air once. This event offered tethered balloon rides for $15, which was a great deal. Unfortunately, rides were first come first serve and they sold out of tethered rides by 5:45PM before the event even started. So, I did not get the chance to try it out. It would be nice if they sold half or all of the tickets in advance.
Hot Air Balloon Sky Glow
There were 10 hot air balloons in the Henrico Skyglow. I loved the Skyglow portion of this event. First Attendees were able to walk around and talk to the balloon pilots and watch them inflate their balloons. Then when the sun went down they would light up the balloons with the pilot flame inside along to the music, creating a very pleasant effect. There were a variety of colors, patterns, and shape balloons that made it more interesting. I found watching the balloons to be a heart-warming experience. There’s something so jovial and charming about them that just made me smile. The actual skyglow portion of the evening was about 20 minutes at the very end of the festival.
Live Music
The live music was a nice offering at this festival, but you could only hear it if you sat close to the pavilion. You could not hear it out by the balloons. They had a variety of groups like the police band play. It was not anything fancy but it was a nice offering.
Play Areas
There were two play areas available for children. One was a hot air balloon partially inflated on its side and filled with beach balls that kids run around inside and play with. That was a neat hot air balloon themed play offering. Additionally, there was a bounce house available.
Who Goes Here?
This was a free family friendly event open to the public. It was heavily attended by families with children and couples.
Venue
The venue for this event was the Meadow Farm at Crump Park in Henrico, VA. It consisted of a somewhat large field surrounded by trees. Though it was a decent choice of an open field for the hot air balloons and festivities it was not large enough to handle the quantity of people who came out.
Though they made a valiant effort at their first Skyglow in Henrico, VA. However, it appeared the organizers vastly under anticipated the amount of people who would attend. It looked like it was very well organized for about a fourth of the amount of people who attended. I think it was a great event but it needed a bigger venue or to be ticketed to manage the number of participants.
There were a few food trucks available at the festival including: BBQ, kettle corn, burgers, chicken, tacos, and shaved ice trucks. I did find there were not enough trucks for the amount of people so the lines got incredibly long. I tried the shaved ice and was pleasantly surprised all of them were served in fun light up tube holders that were a fun addition when it got dark. Additionally, attendees were welcome to bring their own food and picnic.
Location
The hot air balloon festival was held at Meadow Farm in Crump park, Henrico, VA. This is on the northern extent of the greater Richmond, VA area just off of I-295. However, the parking was poorly laid out with just a few small lots dispersed throughout the park and it ended up being an hour plus wait in line to park. The event started at 6PM and they seemed to run out of parking at about 5:30PM. Additionally, the field itself was a but small for the quantity of people and balloons. You did need to walk on uneven ground from the parking to the event field.
Summary
Overall, I really enjoyed the Henrico Skyglow. It was a really fun, unique, lighthearted event. I think if I went again would arrive VERY early to park and get tickets to ride a balloon. Also I would pack a picnic dinner and bring lawn chairs to sit and enjoy. Though the event has room for improvement I enjoyed it and hope they hold it again next year. I would recommend attending if you don’t mind crowds!
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