Balloon Glow

Friday night was the kickoff to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race. The Energizer Bunny balloon, aka the "Hot Hare Balloon," is the largest balloon in the world. So of course we went to see him participate. Here is the bunny balloon as he's in the last stages of being inflated.

Friday night's event is called is the "balloon glow" - an event where all the balloons are tethered but inflated and glowing. Once all the balloons are up, the balloon operators illuminate their burners in sync. The sight of 25-30 balloons being continuously illuminated makes for some pretty spectacular dinner lighting.

The bunny balloon is taller than the Statue of Liberty. Hopefully you can get an idea of his size relative to the other balloons. Here's a link for some fun facts about the bunny balloon.

This gives you an idea of the glow effect. With so many balloons it's hard to get the full effect in a photo. You'll have to trust me when I say it's a pretty amazing sight.

We shared the night with family and friends. Some of our new St. Louis friends joined us for the event.

John, Troy's parents, and a friend of theirs who was visiting from Connecticut also joined us for the evening. (Troy unfortunately had to work.)

The following day was the balloon race. Sadly, the wind conditions weren't favorable for the bunny balloon (with his unusual shape he's a bit temperamental), so he had to sit it out. This made us especially glad we had the chance to see him in what turned out to be his only appearance at the event!