Fifty-four years after seven balloons drifted over Cricket Field in front of a crowd of just 20 people, the Great Forest Park Balloon Race is coming back to St. Louis with a scale that dwarfs its humble 1973 beginnings. This year's edition runs September 18-19, 2026, at Forest Park, and as always, admission is free.
The weekend kicks off Friday, September 18, at Emerson Central Fields, where spectators are allowed to walk around and chat with the pilots and crews prepping their balloons, according to KMOV. The balloon glow itself starts at 5 p.m. and the balloons will glow from 6:45 to 8:45 p.m., though that schedule is weather permitting, per the same report. DJ Reggie takes over the main stage at 6 p.m. as part of the evening's entertainment lineup.
Friday night also brings two of the event's most anticipated moments: the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team takes to the sky at 9 p.m., followed almost immediately by the PNC Bank fireworks finale, which caps the night at 9:15 p.m. KMOV notes that First Alert 4 will air a one-hour television special about the glow starting at 6 p.m., inviting viewers to tune in for coverage of the evening from St. Louis.
Saturday's Hare and Hound Race Takes the Main Stage
The actual race unfolds Saturday, September 19, when Central Fields opens to the public at 1 p.m. and opening ceremonies begin at 3 p.m. The competition follows the event's traditional Hare and Hound format, in which a lead balloon launches first to lay down a ground target marked with an X, and the field of chasing balloons launches roughly 15 minutes later to try to drop markers as close to that target as possible, according to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race website. This year, the Stifel Hare balloon launches at 4:30 p.m., with the Hound balloons following at 4:45 p.m.
Because hot air balloons cannot be steered horizontally and instead ride shifting wind currents at different altitudes, pilots have to read conditions with precision to land anywhere near the target — a challenge made tougher by the fact that this is one of the rare major balloon races staged entirely inside a large metropolitan city, per the balloon race website.
A Free Festival Built on Corporate Backing
The 2026 race is presented by Stifel, part of a sponsorship arrangement that has kept admission free to the public for more than five decades, the balloon race website notes. That corporate support covers logistics, entertainment, and safety operations for a festival that now draws between 100,000 and 150,000 spectators and more than 50 to 70 balloons each year, making it the most attended single-day hot air balloon race in the country, according to Explore St. Louis. It's also one of only two hot air balloon races in the United States that has run for more than 50 years.
Event operations have been handled since 1977 by the Mississippi River Balloon Transit Company, a group formed by four local balloonists who stepped in after the race's original founders, Nikki Caplan and John O'Toole, moved on, according to Wikipedia. The race has since become part of the nation's cultural record: on May 23, 2000, it was inducted into the Library of Congress's permanent collection as an official Local Legacy, a designation nominated by former U.S. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt.
The tradition has proven remarkably durable. In 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions barred public gatherings, organizers refused to let the streak break, instead sending more than 50 balloons on surprise flyovers across the region under the banner Lift Up St. Louis to honor frontline workers, according to STL MADE. That improvised format replaced the traditional Forest Park gathering for one year only before the race returned to Central Fields.
A Paid Option for a Private View
While the main festival remains free, those looking for a more exclusive vantage point have one option: the Humane Society of Missouri is hosting a ticketed fundraiser called Glow in the Park on September 18, offering private field entry, valet parking, cocktails, and dinner during the evening balloon glow, according to the Humane Society of Missouri.
This year's race also lands during a milestone stretch for its host venue. Forest Park, which spans roughly 1,300 acres and draws about 15.5 million visitors annually, was named the No. 1 city park in the nation in USA TODAY's 2026 Readers' Choice awards as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations, as Hoodline previously reported. It's a fitting backdrop for a festival that has grown from a handful of balloons on a single field into one of the region's signature free traditions.
