Follow Me To: The Balloon Fiesta



Hey Owlets, 

It's been a while! Summer is always the busiest time for me but it seems that this year has been even more hectic than usual (thanks to all the lovely people I've worked with on The Owlet - I'll explain later).

Anyway, now I've finally got a few minutes I want to show you what I got up to during my week at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. The fiesta is one of the biggest and best events of the Bristolian social calendar, but this year it was even better thanks to the amazing team at Red Letter Days.


Every year a mysterious white tent appears at Ashton Court. You always want what you can't have, so growing up I've always wanted to go in the Member's Enclosure.  When Brooke contacted me and asked if I'd like to go as a guest of Red Letter Days, I couldn't wait! On Thursday night Dad and I dressed up smart and went to investigate the mysterious white tent, where we bumped in Guilia from B Local blog (you've seen her before in my Brooks Guest House post). 


We were treated to an amazing dinner sat out on the field, then waited for the balloons. The mass ascent was cancelled due to the strong winds but we still had the Night Glow to look forward to. Hands down, the night glow is one of my favourite parts of being a Bristolian. The balloon pilots learn a choreographed routine to light the balloons up in time with the music, which looks amazing. 

I didn't think the night glow could be improved but apparently it can - with the passes that Red Letter Days gave us we were allowed out onto the field to walk through the middle of the night glow, which is hands down one of the most memorable things I have ever done.

The best part was that, as much as we had been teasing the rest of the BSR gang about not being allowed it, it turned out that the passes we were given as a media partner also allowed us into the enclosure, meaning that by the time of the night glow, the entire BSR gang had gatecrashed to share the front row seats with us.

If you want to join us in the front row too, check out my Balloon Fiesta part 1 vlog below ☺️


Thursday's night glow with Red Letter Days was brilliant, but after our evening pretending to be posh, I then went back into photographer/radio presenter mode for the rest of the week. Bradley Stoke Radio was hosting the Acoustic Stage on the field all week so we got to listen to some really talented artists that I hadn't previously heard of. Our media passes allowed us out on the field as well which meant that during one of the only evening ascents that went ahead as planned, we were able to walk out onto the field and wander through the balloons as they were inflating, as well getting to be front row for the second incredible night glow.

If you want to see what we did over the weekend, check out part two of my Balloon Fiesta vlog linked below.🎈


This year's Balloon Fiesta was one of the best I've been to in a while, but out of the whole week one thing stands out as my highlight. On Sunday, the balloons were cleared to do one final mass ascent. The balloons inflate 70% with cold air, and only the final 30% is filled using the burners. I'd got talking to one of the pilots earlier in the week as the media camp was next to the Balloonist village. While they were doing the cold inflation he took his grandson for a walk inside the balloon. Amazingly, after they'd been in, he invited me to go and have a quick walk round. They were waiting on me to look around so I was only in the balloon for 30 seconds, but it's such an incredible experience and I feel so lucky to have been invited to take a look inside the balloon. 

My week at the Balloon Fiesta was incredible, and having the Red Letter Days invitation to the members enclosure, as well as the media pass, made this year the best fiesta I have ever attended, even if the weather didn't want to play ball. If you want to see what it's like inside a balloon, make sure you take a look at part 3 of my Balloon Fiesta vlog series.

I've been so fortunate over the summer to be invited to some amazing things that I never would've imagined getting to do, so make sure you stay tuned for more travel blogs, vlogs and sappy posts.

Love and Feathers, 
 The Owlet 💜 

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