Angola Balloons Aloft

Our inflatable kids fun zone is back for another year.

The fun zone offers hours of entertainment and is open Friday, July 10 from 4 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, July 11 from noon to 9 p.m. We have 10 inflatables for the kids to enjoy during Angola Balloons Aloft. Tickets are $1 each and each inflatable is three tickets. All-day wrist bands will be sold for $25 and give kids unlimited play in the fun zone for each day purchased. (An extra $2 will be charged for credit card sales.) Ticket sales end at 8:30 p.m. each night.

Have you ever wanted to help crew a hot air balloon?

We are putting together a list of people who would be willing to be "on call" during the event in case we need extra help. There's no guarantee you'll be called on, but we certainly appreciate your help! If you have a certain flight you'd like to volunteer for ahead of time, please reach out.

Volunteers must be at least 18 years old. You are required to wear closed-toed shoes during the event and will need to follow this page in order to receive updates. Pilot contracts state that "crew members are in good health and able to sustain the ability to run and be able to share the weight distribution." Crewing involves unpacking the balloon, holding onto the tether ropes as it inflates, traveling in a chase vehicle to where the balloon lands and folding/packing up the balloon. This involves a 2-3 hour time commitment.

You would need to report to Angola High School by 6:15 p.m. Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11. For the Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12 morning flights, crew members would report to the Wingate hotel by 6:15 a.m. You can volunteer to crew just one or any number of flights.

If you are interested, please send us a message here or e-mail [email protected] along with your phone number and dates/times you'd be willing to help. We would contact you by text before or during the event if we need help. Thank you!

We welcome four additional Michigan pilots to Angola Balloons Aloft July 10 and 11 at Angola High School.

David Seekell from Jackson competes in "Shining Light" and is sponsored by Stoy Farms. Steven Sitko is also from Jackson and joins us in "Maveryx," sponsored by Anderlini Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. William Sterner flies "Godspeed" and is sponsored by ILM Environments. He hails from Oxford. Joey Strutz of Brighton is sponsored by MidWest America Federal Credit Union and will compete in "Wild Card."

A big thank you goes out to all our sponsors who make this event possible. We could not do what we do without the community's support and for that, we've very grateful!

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we're getting ready to celebrate in a big way at Angola Balloons Aloft! In just four weeks, the skies above Angola will come alive with colorful balloons and a weekend full of patriotic fun and community pride.

The countdown is officially on! 28 days and counting. 🎉🎈

Angola Balloons Aloft welcomes back Zack Jackson, Landon Kohtz and Ben Leatherman.

Jackson joins us from Fishers and will compete in "Quarter Life Crisis." He's sponsored by Best-One Tire & Auto Care of Angola. Kohtz of Wayland, Mich., is flying "Heatwave" and is sponsored by Jacob Insurance Service LLC while Leatherman of East Leroy, Mich., will fly "Timeless." He's sponsored by Leatherman Hardscape.

See all the balloons fly Friday and Saturday, July 10 and 11 at Angola Balloons Aloft 2026. All flights are wind and weather permitting. A big thank you goes out to our sponsors who help bring this great community event to Steuben County!

Angola Balloons Aloft recently received a $1,000 grant from the Forever Improving Steuben County Together Fund at the Steuben County Community Foundation. FIST seeks to inspire the youth of Steuben County to become leaders of tomorrow by sharing their resources and empowering others to donate their time, talent and treasures.

The high school FIST students visit every local fifth-grade classroom to discuss giving back to their community. In turn, Future Leaders in Philanthropy (FLIP) work together to decide which community organization will receive a $1,000 grant. This year, Angola Balloons Aloft was chosen as the beneficiary. We will use this grant to provide free archery tag at our event through Steuben County-based Extreme Archery.

We're thankful for the continued support of our community!

Cynthia Seal is back for Angola Balloons Aloft 2026! The crowd favorite is piloted by Pat Rolfe of Battle Creek, Mich., and is sponsored by Steuben County Community Foundation. We welcome Michael O'Brien of Berkley, Mich., who is sponsored by Monument Pizza Pub and competes in "Coulda Been A Boat." We also say hello to McKenna Secrist from Bothell, Wash., sponsored by 3Rivers Federal Credit Union. She will compete in the beautiful "Zippity."

Come see these balloons at Angola Balloons Aloft July 10 and 11 at Angola High School. As always, admission and parking are free thanks to our generous sponsors!

We're grateful to have these talented pilots join us at Angola Balloons Aloft July 10 and 11 at Angola High School.

Janet Lutkus pilots "Goodnight Gracie" and has been a part of our event for many years. She hails from Medina, Ohio and is sponsored by Lakeland Electronics. Jeff McDaniel is competing in "Apache," and is sponsored by JICI Construction. He joins us from Ridge Springs, S.C. Lori Nowak of Xenia, Ohio, is sponsored by Wagler & Associates, Inc and flies "Hank" in our competition.

Thank you to our sponsors who make this awesome community event happen!

In between welcoming our pilots, we wanted to post a reminder about the flights and when the call is made if it's safe to fly.

Before any hot air balloons launch, the pilots meet for a safety briefing. The status of each flight will NOT be announced until after this meeting. The pilots meet at 6:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. to determine if the wind and weather conditions are safe for flying. We always make the safety of our pilots and crew a priority. We realize many travel from long distances to watch this awesome event, but we simply are unable to announce the status of any flight until after the briefing. Even if it seems calm at ground level, the winds can be higher just a few hundred feet up. This may cause a flight to be delayed or cancelled.

The status of each flight will be announced on Facebook as soon as information becomes available following the pilot briefing. Flights are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 10 and 11 as well as 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 12. There's also a flight planned Friday, July 10 at 7 a.m. with a smaller number of pilots.

Three more beautiful balloons will compete at Angola Balloons Aloft July 10 and 11 at Angola High School. This year, we have 22 competition balloons, five special shapes, six corporate balloons and four paid ride balloons for a total of 37!

Chad Crabtree, piloting "Hiedi's Star," is sponsored by our propane sponsor Billman Propane. Crabtree joins us from Delton, Mich. Darrin Fall of Grass Lake, Mich., will fly "Turquoise Noise" and is sponsored by Campbell & Fetter Bank while Brad Hosmer competes in "Tarp Time." Brad is from Oak Creek, Wisc., and is sponsored by Fort Financial Credit Union.

We're thankful for our sponsors who help make this wonderful event possible year after year!