Spooktacular Hot Air Balloon Festival is sky-high fun
The trick-or-treating experience is no longer just going door to door in a family neighborhood. Events such as the Spooktacular Hot Air Balloon Festival are offering different ways to dress up and collect candy.
During the event on Oct. 25 and 26 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, children can go from one glowing hot air balloon to another, gathering candy and interacting with pilots.
Throughout the two
4,000 pounds of candy.
Chris Bonnell, director of marketing for Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, said the event draws anywhere between 18,000 and 20,000 people.
It has become a staple event for the venue, which is also the spring training facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies.
An annual tradition
nights, pilots will give out
For some, attending the balloon event has become an annual Halloween tradition.
Bonnell said the event provides a safe experience that is a little different.
“Parents are looking for safe environments for their kids to go to run around and play… It lets people relax and enjoy the spirit of Halloween,” Bonnell said.
Along with the hot air balloons, the event will have a children’s area with inflatables and obstacle courses, tethered hot air balloon rides, a vendor market, costume contests, nightly fireworks and a haunted spook trail.
This year, pilots will bring out more than 20 conventional and specially-shaped hot air balloons. They come from Arizona and states such as New Mexico.
Many of the pilots have been taking part in the event for a number of years. Some of them get into the spirit of the event, dressing in costumes to hand out candy.
The tethered rides, which cost extra, will go 30 feet high. They are offered by Rainbow Ryders, which is trick-ortreating based in Phoenix.
Bonnell said the hot air balloons are always the hit of the festival. The highlight of the event for him is seeing guests’ reactions to them and to other sights.
“I enjoy, from my perspective, just all of the kids and families who come, and you see the smiles on their faces… It’s pretty cool to know that you helped put on an event that made someone’s Halloween experience that much better,” Bonnell said.
All ages in costumes
The nightly costume contests will be divided into adult, children and group/family categories. Winners will receive trophies and gift cards to partnering businesses.
Bonnell said both children and adults go out in creating their costumes. In the past, winners have dressed up as characters such as Pennywise from the movie “It.”
“You get to see a lot of the adults have fun with it and get dressed up. You see some very interesting costumes year-after-year,” Bonnell said.
Each night will end with fireworks, which start at 9 p.m.
During the event, guests can try food and desserts such as Asian fare, hot dogs, barbecue, doughnuts and ice cream.Other vendors will have family-friendly items such as light-up toys.
During the event, shuttles will run throughout the evening from the parking lot by Hobby Lobby at the Pavilions at Talking Stick, 9175 E. Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale.
Zombies, clowns and more
Toward the back of the event, guests will find a haunted trail put on by the Saguaro High School Choir.
The students dress up as zombies, movie villains, scarecrows and clowns and try to scare anyone who dares to enter the trail. Some find places to hide and jump out at guests.
Choir members also help to put up and take down decorations, hand out candy and make milk jug Jacko’-Lanterns.
The trail will have a family-friendly option for those with small children, who will carry glow sticks. These guests will receive candy and have a chance to check out the decorations without being approached by spooky characters.
The trail is free, but donations are encouraged. Any money raised will go toward the choir’s annual out-ofstate trip. This year, choir members will visit New Orleans, where they will perform at the National World War II Museum.