Great Forest Park Balloon Race, more events around St. Louis this weekend

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — It's about time to plan for the weekend, but with all that's happening around the St. Louis area, you might struggle with making a decision.

Whether you're interested in exploring the outdoors, shopping, or trying new foods, here are five local events to choose between.

Great Forest Park Balloon Race

If you're looking for entertainment, one of the biggest and "hottest" events to take place in St. Louis is the Great Forest Park Balloon Race. 

At 5 p.m. Friday, the event begins with food trucks serving a variety of cuisines.

Live music from Boogie Chyld can be heard at 6 p.m. that same night on the Maryville University Main Stage.

The light show begins at approximately 7:30 p.m., when there will be breathtaking views of hundreds of balloons lighting up the night sky. Following the light show, there will be fireworks starting at 9:15 p.m.

St. Louis Lebanese Festival

If you're looking to experience a more diverse array of cultural cuisine and music, check out the St. Louis Lebanese Festival.

This is a free two-day event for the people in St. Louis and surrounding areas to experience authentic Lebanese cuisine, live music and dancing.

There will be a variety of food such as tabbouleh, hummus, beef shawarma, chicken, falafel, Lebanese sweets and more. 

Grand opening of Nudo House in Delmar Loop Location 

Nudo House is an ramen and Asian cuisine restaraunt in Creve Coeur, and now they are opening up another location in the Delmar Loop.

If you're looking to do more shopping than eating this weekend, you should checkout the South Grand Fall Fest this Saturday.

The event will "include more than 70 retail vendors and community organizations, as well as specific activity areas perfect for families," according to the Facebook event.

Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival

The Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival is celebrating 25 years of bringing the Greater St. Louis area together and is planning on going all out this year.

From the Hispanic food, to the dancing and music, the festival has picked up a lot of momentum as 1,400 people are interested in the event on Facebook, as of Thursday afternoon.

It begins at 10 a.m. Friday, and runs until 9 p.m. Sunday, so you can check it out in between all of the other activities listed above.