READINGTON, N.J. (WCBS 880) — The New Jersey hot air balloon festival is back after being canceled last year due to the pandemic.
The 38th Annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning is kicking off at 1 p.m. Friday at Solberg Airport in Readington Township and will run through the weekend.
The festival will feature nearly 100 different colorful balloons floating in the bright blue sky, including a giant unicorn, sloth, and panda bear.
There will also be concerts by the Barenaked Ladies and Styx.
"This means everything to us," the festival's executive producer, Howard Freeman, said. "We have a slogan this year, 'Things are looking up.' After missing a year and now being able to see balloons again it just means everything for people to get out of their house."
After producing this festival for so many years, Freeman said his favorite part of every weekend is seeing the faces of children light up as the balloons take flight.
The event is billed as "the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America and is the premiere family entertainment attraction in New Jersey."
In 2019, it attracted 170,000 visitors.
The festival's website was experiencing an outage Friday morning.
Tickets can be purchased HERE.
The full schedule of events has been posted to the festival's Facebook page.
Free vaccinations will be available at the event and those who get their shot at the festival will get ticket discounts and have a chance to win a ride in a sun-shaped New Jersey Lottery balloon, WABC-TV reported.