Berry Dairy Days hosts hot air balloons

BURLINGTON - In a first for Berry Dairy Days, the weekend-long festival kicked off Friday with hot air balloons at Skagit River Park in Burlington.

The event featured five hot air balloons from Seattle Ballooning.

As sunset approached at 9 p.m., the balloons began to inflate, and party music started playing in the area. The process took about 30 minutes.

During inflation, attendees seated themselves in the park's field, on the backs of cars, and on the river dike. Younger attendees used the opportunity to play with glow sticks and regular balloons.

Once inflated, the crowd went wild as the balloon pilots lit up their balloons. Many attendees walked directly up to the hot air balloons' baskets to watch the process.

While many were excited about the hot air balloons, some in the crowd left after about 15 minutes because the balloons never rose off the ground.

The event concluded at 10:30 p.m.

The weekend did not end with the hot air balloons, however.

The Burlington Chamber of Commerce's 89th annual Berry Dairy Days celebration included a grand parade, 5K and 10K runs, a car show, a grill competition, vendors, food and live entertainment.

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