The Sky's The Limit At NJ's Balloon Festival This Summer

NEW JERSEY — For those looking for some cheap thrills this summer, the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning may be just the place to let all your stresses float away.

The largest summertime balloon and music festival in North America, returning to Solberg Airport in Readington for the 39th time, will take place July 29-31 this year.

For just $12 to $15 per child or $32 to $40 per adult, Jerseyans can get general admission to see 100 hot air balloon ascend into the air, all while listening to live music and bands.

Alternatively, for those who are seeking some aerial views of the festival, you can book a hot air balloon ride, which costs between $250 to $315, according to the New Jersey Herald.

New special shape balloons this year include Billy The Kid, a flying saucer, a Tazmanian devil, an alien rocket ship and a tiger.

The signature balloon remains the 135-foot-tall New Jersey Lottery Sunny Days, which is shaped like a giant sun. Visitors can also expect to see returning favorites like the 110-foot-tall Unique Photo panda, the 80-foot-tall Pepsi football and a pink unicorn.

Headlining the main stage at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, July 29 will be Laurie Berkner — a popular children's music artist. This will be followed by rock band Collective Soul that night at 8 p.m.

On Saturday night, Todd Rundgeren — a music artist and producer known for hits like "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw The Light" — will headline at 8 p.m. Kansas will then conclude the weekend headline acts at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 31.

Past headliners at the festival have included the Beach Boys, Third Eye Blind, the Jonas Bothers and Demi Lovato.

Concert lawn seating is included with every ticket, and festival-goers can choose between three stages. Reserved seating for all concerts requires additional purchase.

The Cash Pop Summer Stage will also feature eight tribute bands this year, including Minikiss — a tribute band made up of a little people that has been featured on the Super Bowl — as well as bands honoring the Spice Girls, Meatloaf, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bruce Springsteen.

Weather permitting, the balloon ascensions are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 6:30 a.m. Saturday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

The festival is also partnering with Dellano's Food Service to serve some tasty festival eats. Offerings will include Italian sausage sandwiches, cheesesteaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, salads and more.

For those looking to enjoy the balloons from a far, the festival will also hold a 5K race on a variety of surfaces, including pavement, gravel, dirt road and grass. Nearly 1,000 runners take part in the run, which leads right past the balloon launch area and finishes in the heart of the festival.

All runners will also receive a full-day pass to the festival. Learn more here.

Other attractions will include a fireworks display, a nighttime hot air balloon glow, amusement rides and a human cannonball.

This year, human cannonball David "The Bullet" Smith, Jr., who is the 5K race's "starting pistol" will attempt to set a world record by being the first human cannonball to do a scratch-off ticket in midair. Whatever he wins will be split with one audience member.

According to the New Jersey Herald, winnings can range up to $10,000.

In addition, at Lottery Land — a component of the festival for those 18 and older that was added last year — other lottery-themed features also will be at play.

The festival will even launch its first-ever line of NFT collectibles this year.

You can learn more about what the balloon festival has to offer this year on its website.