Balloon Rides • Balloon Glows • Special Shapes Sunday • Best Food Trucks in SoCal • Concerts • Healthy Life Fest
The City of Cathedral City, Fantasy Balloon Flights, and Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa, celebrate the 6th Annual Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival and Food Truck Fiesta, presented by Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa, on Friday, November 22 through Sunday, November 24, 2019. The festival activities continue to expand each year with balloon rides across the Coachella Valley, balloon glows on Friday and Saturday nights, the Food Truck Fiesta featuring the best food trucks in Southern California, and LIVE entertainment including concerts by “Big Band Sounds of Ron King with Vocalist Barbara Morrison,” “Woodstock Tribute Band,” and “Lisa and The Gents.”
Friday, November 22nd – D.R. Horton at Verano, Cathedral City
Balloon Launch & Race
The festival will bring more than 30 hot air balloons from across the United States and around the world to the Coachella Valley for a kaleidoscope of color, art, sound and enjoyment. The festival kicks-off on Friday morning at 6:00 am for the “Balloon Launch & Race” at D.R. Horton at Verano 67-840 Rio Vista Drive Cathedral City. Watch up to 30 hot air balloons launch and fly over the desert. Free admission. Afterwards, take a peek at the new model homes offered by DR Horton while you enjoy coffee and donuts. Free admission.
Friday, November 22nd – Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa, Rancho Mirage
Balloon Glow Concert featuring “The Ron King Band with Barbara Morrison”
On Friday evening from 7 pm to 8:30 pm, attendees will marvel as a dozen hot air balloons provide the backdrop for a spectacular evening of music, wine and dancing featuring the Ron King Band with vocalist Barbara Morrison. The Ron King Big Band is an award-winning band that has performed at virtually every venue in L.A. including the Hollywood Bowl. For the last 15 years they have been the featured big band at the world’s largest jazz festival in Jakarta, Indonesia. Ron King is one of the finest trumpet / composer / arranger artists, in the world today. Morrison is known for a melodic voice and a three-and-a-half-octave range. She interprets a familiar jazz and blues classics repertoire in a unique style and sings original contemporary tunes. Tickets available at www.HotAirBalloonFest.com.
Saturday, November 23rd – Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa, Rancho Mirage
Saturday Morning Balloon Launch
The hot air balloon activities begin at 6 am with the inflation of 30 hot air balloons at Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage. Around 7 am, the balloons will mass ascend into the sky one by one and float across the Coachella Valley. Free admission. Attendees can also purchase balloon ride tickets and fulfill their bucket list of flying in a hot air balloon across the Valley. Tickets available at www.HotAirBalloonFest.com.
Saturday, November 23rd – Downtown Cathedral City
Tethered Balloon Rides – 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
In addition, the festival offers tethered hot air balloon rides in Downtown Cathedral City, 68510 East Palm Canyon Drive beginning at 9:00 am until 11:00 a.m. Attendees may purchase the tethered rides onsite for $25 for adults, $20 for kids ages 6 -12 years, and free for children aged 5 years and under with an adult ticket purchase. Tickets for tethered balloon rides are purchased on-site at the festival.
Food Truck Fiesta (Saturday Only) 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
From 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Downtown Cathedral City at the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater, come hungry for some amazing food! At the “Food Truck Fiesta,” take a selfie inside a Cold Air Balloon Activation, listen to DJ Music, and indulge in a variety of food that you will not find elsewhere. The best food trucks in SoCal will be parked and creating cuisines that will delight your taste buds. Admission is $5 per person (does not include beverage or drinks). Kids 12 and under, Cathedral City residents and active military personnel with photo IDs receive free entry. Tickets are available online at www.HotAirBalloonFest.com.
Kid Zone 11 am to 4 pm / Banana Balloon Candy Drop – 11 a.m.
Be sure to bring the kids to the Town Square Park in Downtown Cathedral City for the Kid Zone featuring a variety of bouncy houses, face painting and characters from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 per child. Cathedral City residents receive a $5 discount. Additionally, come early for the 11 a.m. “Banana Balloon Candy Drop” where a giant banana balloon will lower to the ground, and once landed, kids can rush inside the Festival Lawn to grab up to 10,000 pieces of candy thanks to La Michoacana Dulceria / Candy Shop for free.
Music on the Main Stage – “Woodstock Tribute Band”
Join us near the Festival Lawn from 11:00 am to 8:00 p.m. for free LIVE entertainment at the Main Stage featuring local bands such as Daytime Moon, Avenida, Lisa and The Gents, Icon Allstars, a special performance by the “Woodstock Tribute Band”. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock concert, the tribute band “Woodstock” brings the legendary sounds back to life with songs performed by Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana, David Crosby, Jimi Hendrix, Ian Anderson, and Keith Moon. Admission is free for the Music on the Main Stage.
Healthy Life Fest – 11 am to 8 pm
The Healthy Life Fest is a festival full of inspiration, positive vibration, entertainment and education about living a vibrant, well balanced, healthy sustainable lifestyle. It will have natural product vendors sampling their products, educational speakers, live and demonstrations, yoga, meditation, and wellness activities to participate in, musical entertainment, plant-based food vendors, games for children and adults and more. For more information, go to .
Rooftop Viewing Lounge for Saturday Night’s Balloon Glow to Music
Starting at 5:00 p.m. families, couples or groups of friends wanting to share a wonderful balloon viewing experience should get reservations for the Rooftop Viewing Lounge on top of the Downtown Parking Structure with its majestic views of the mountains and Valley floor. Guests will enjoy a Mini Balloon Glow on the Rooftop (weather permitting), DJ music, auto displays by Honda and Toyota in the Desert, free entry into the Food Truck Fiesta, and no-host bar. The Viewing Lounge is the perfect location for the Saturday Night Balloon Glow to Music that begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at www.HotAirBalloonFest.com for $10 online!
Saturday Night Balloon Glow to Music
At 5:00 p.m. families should gather downtown to pick their spot and watch the inflation of up to 30 hot air balloons for the Cathedral City Balloon Glow to Music at the Festival Lawn. This free 45-minute balloon glow to music begins at 6:00 p.m. and will light up the night sky with a kaleidoscope of color, sound, and enjoyment. Weathering permitting, take a night-time tethered balloon ride at the Festival Lawn after the balloon glow. It will be magical!
Sunday, November 24th – Big League Dreams Sports Park, Cathedral City
Balloon Glow, Breakfast & Special Shapes Sunday
Join us for the “Balloon Glow, Breakfast & Special Shapes Sunday” at Big League Dreams Sports Park (BLD), 33700 Date Palm Drive, where attendees will be treated to an American breakfast while watching the balloons inflate on three ball fields at 6 a.m., glow to music and then launch to fly across the Valley. At least eight special shape balloons are scheduled to inflate to create that magical moment for the perfect selfie. Tethered balloon rides will also be available. Tickets for the balloon glow, breakfast and balloon race are available at www.HotAirBalloonFest.com or at the door.
The festival offers free admission and free general parking. All balloon activities are weather and F.A.A. permitting. Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa offers attendees with a special balloon hotel rate and packages while supplies last.
Please thank our festival sponsors including The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa, City of Cathedral City, D.R. Horton America’s Homebuilder, The Desert Sun, Honda of the Desert, Toyota of the Desert, Big League Dreams Sports Park, Volkswagen of Palm Springs, Sunniva, GED Magazine, Quick Quack Car Wash, Fantasy Balloon Flights, Sea Athletes, Café Italia, Healthy Life Fest, Mother Earth’s Farmacy, REMAX, Atomic Budz, Canyon Print & Signs, Burke Williams Sorensen LLC, and La Michoacana Ice Cream and Candy Store.
For the latest festival information, go to www.HotAirBalloonFest.com.
