Balloons Fail to Float First Night of Turf Valley Festival

Update - 12:40 p.m. - This article was updated to include information about why balloons were grounded.

Breezy conditions at Turf Valley Thursday night kept the 25 or so hot air balloons deflated as hundreds of people looked on at the Preakness Hot Air Balloon Festival.

The balloon glow was scheduled to take place as soon as it began to get dark, around 8 p.m. But by that time many of the balloon operators were already packing up their equipment into trailers and leaving the site.

At 8:30 p.m., a DJ announced over loudspeakers, "Due to breezy conditions the balloons will not conduct the ballooon glow this evening," leading to a mass exodus of attendees from Turf Valley.

Earlier in the day, most of the balloons were inflated, but handlers struggled to keep them upright as winds blew them around in the open field.

By the time dusk hit, only two balloons were left standing, and only one glowed—the Curves balloon.

Last night the wind speeds reached between 10 to 12 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

The balloonmeister, Ron Broderick, posted in a Facebook post that winds on the surface should be less than 7 mph for it to be safe for balloons.

Another balloon glow is scheduled for Friday night at Turf Valley, NWS predicts wind speeds around 6 mph Friday night.

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