Wairarapa Balloon Festival

Balloon Festival

The much loved Wairarapa Balloon Festival will fill our Wairarapa skies with glorious balloons for five days over Easter weekend from 28 March to 1 April.

This magical festival is completely FREE, and fun for the whole family, delighting locals and drawing in crowds from around the country, featuring lift-offs from different Wairarapa towns each morning, and balloon competitions where balloonists use their technical skills to complete a series of challenges.

Check out the full programme below or on the Wairarapa Balloon Festival website:

Thursday 28th March
Carterton District Council Hare & Hound from 6.30am Carrington Park, Carterton
Watch participating balloons compete in a game of Hare & Hound where competitor balloons (Hounds) follow the Hare (balloon) attempting to drop a marker close to a target.

Friday 29th March
WBS Distance Flight from 6.30am Wairarapa College, Masterton
Watch participating balloons compete in a distance race, where all balloons compete to fly the maximum distance from take-off site.

Saturday 30th March
Hireways Distance Flight from 6.30am Carrington Park, Carterton
Watch participating balloons compete in a distance race, where all balloons compete to fly the maximum distance from take-off site.

Saturday 30th March
Domino's Carterton Meet and Greet the Pilots 3pm-7.30pm Carrington Park, Carterton
Meet the balloonists, walk-through an inflated cold air balloon, bring a picnic, grab a Domino's Pizza, and see the burners light up as it gets darker

Sunday 31st March
More FM Multi Target Competition from 6.30am, Carterton or Masterton
Watch the balloons fly and try to drop bags on as many targets as they can.

Monday 1st April
Trust House Free to Fly Farewell Flight from 6.30am, from various take-off points around Masterton and Carterton.
Pilots and their balloons will take off all over Masterton and Carterton for the last time in the festival's finale flight.

People are encouraged to come down to the parks where the balloons take off from 6.30am each morning, to see this impressive display up close.

Also, keep an eye on the Wairarapa Balloon Festival Facebook page or listen to More FM Wairarapa 89.5 FM for updates on final take-off locations and flight directions.

Address: 
Various locations around Wairarapa
Wairarapa 5810
New Zealand
Email: 
wairarapaballoons@gmail.com