Hudson Hot Air Affair winter festival and hot air balloon rally will be changing their traditional date and picking a familiar theme for the 2018 event. The 29th annual celebration of winter will be January 26-28, 2018 — a week earlier than the usual first full weekend in February.
“We needed to get off the Super Bowl weekend because it’s in Minneapolis,” explained long time committee volunteer Carla Timmerman. “We know people are thinking February, but the 2018 balloon rally will be in January.”
The event is keeping with the football theme, however, choosing “Touchdown Hudson XXIX” to describe the event’s 29th annual winter celebration. Flying footballs will be in the air—both hot air balloon size and childrens’ souvenir size. There will be a football player ice carving, football costumes at smoosh boarding and football player grand marshals in the popular Torchlight Parade.
Balloon launches are scheduled for 7:35 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, depending on conditions, with optional/backup launches at 3 p.m.
