It was the first annual "Owloween" hot air balloon and Halloween festival Saturday evening at the local university (where I went to college!). We met up with the A family there and Bri had so much fun with her friend Imerie!
I was a bit worried about the event being the "1st annual" because of possible first year bumps and hiccups. And there did end up being a number of those. Thank goodness we met up with the A family! The event was so much more fun because we got to hang out with them!
Bri was pretty excited when we arrived...
She went to the inflatables immediately and played until Imerie arrived...
Yay - now the fun really begins!!!!
Watching the pole vaulting...
We decided to grab dinner first because the crowd was already building heavily only an hour into the event. The lines were getting super long and there were not enough vendors to support the crowd. Thank goodness we ate early and found a table!
Bri bumped into the school mascot...
There were hot air balloon rides in the soccer stadium...
The sky started to get really pretty...
Then more balloons were being blown up in the track and field area...
While that was happening, Bri was jumping and flipping on the bungee...
She flipped and flipped and flipped. I don't know how she didn't get sick to her stomach!
Camden got in on the action too...
I didn't have my good camera with me, so all of these pictures are cell phone shots. Not too shabby though...
The girls went on this slide over and over and over...
I knew kids could come in costume (I opted for Bri not to do so because I knew she would play way too hard that evening), but I didn't know that the kids could get candy from each balloon. It was like a trunk or treat - hot air balloon style. Briana wanted in on that candy action...
Now in theory, this seemed like a good idea. But there were so many people there, it was hard to get to each basket. There were no set lines - just groups (hoards) of people trying to get from one place to another. Bri and Imerie were quite anxious to get their candy and I was trying to get them through and keep up. At one point while I was walking away with the girls after they got some candy, I heard a lady yell out "I guess you get candy by PUSHING your way through!" I don't know if it was directed at me or not. I never saw who said it. I don't think I pushed my way in anywhere - I was just trying to get through the crowd and figure out who was trying to get candy and who was just looking at the balloons. But seriously lady - there were thousands of people in this place. It was a total madhouse. You're gonna get mad because some kid got some smarties before yours did. Seriously? Nice attitude. (Stepping off soap box now. :D )
There were some other cool things for the kids to do as well - like build stuff...
And join in a dance party...
Imerie and Bri participated in a hula hoop contest as well. Of course, Briana didn't listen to the directions. If you dropped your hoop three times, you were out and had to sit down (I actually didn't hear the "sit down" part myself). Bri kept picking it up and going. I finally had to step in and yell to her to stop because her three times were up. I was in frustration mode by then because of the crowd and her not listening very well. And then she got upset, dropped the hula hoop and came toward me and cried. Ugh.
I talked to her about it and diverted her attention toward something else, so she was fine after that.
We all wanted to try to get a funnel cake after sliding, candy collecting and contesting. Unfortunately, the lines for that were 4 people wide and 20 people deep. Not worth waiting 40 minutes for a funnel cake.
So, we stopped to watch some people spin fire...
This girl spun a hula hoop of fire...
Watching the show...
That was really cool to watch. But by that point, it was so crowded the A family agreed with us that it was time to go home.
We did have a really good time with the A family (despite the few hiccups), but the event was pretty nuts. There were just too many people allowed in there. People could hardly move around. I can't tell you how many "lost parent" alerts we heard while we were in the track and field area. Literally non-stop. And the event was very expensive. Rides, food, everything cost a lot of money on top of the tickets we had to buy just to get in.
I'm still glad we went though. We got to hang out with great friends and see some really pretty balloons. Bri had a great time of course.
I might wait a few years before checking it out again. Hopefully they get the bumps and kinks out of the event by then!
