Hot air balloons rising over Craig carry more than pilots and propane. For many, they carry memories of summer mornings, volunteer crews, visiting families and a festival that has become closely tied to the community’s identity and history.

The Moffat County Balloon Festival returns July 31 through Aug. 2 at Loudy-Simpson Park. The three-day event will feature morning balloon launches, live music, vendors, children’s activities, a cardboard boat regatta and a Saturday night balloon glow.

Weather permitting, balloons are scheduled to launch at 6:30 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The festival traces its roots to Craig’s 2008 centennial celebration, when local organizers staged an air show that became popular with residents and visitors. Afterward, organizers began looking for another aviation-focused event that could continue the momentum.

A committee that included Ray Beck, Melody Villard, Pam Foster, Tony St. John and others developed the balloon festival, according to longtime organizer Randy Looper.

The first festival was planned for the Wyman Museum, but organizers quickly discovered that wind conditions at the location made balloon launches difficult. The following year, the event moved to Loudy-Simpson Park.

Looper explained that the festival has grown steadily over the years, even as balloon launches remain contingent on weather.

After several years of favorable launch conditions, the event faced a stretch of difficult weather from 2016 through 2022. Some years offered few opportunities for balloons to fly. More recently, conditions have allowed organizers to complete more launches and balloon glows.

“Weather is always the biggest unknown,” Looper said.

That uncertainty has helped shape the festival into more than a series of balloon launches. Organizers have filled Friday evening and Saturday with other activities so visitors can still enjoy the event when wind, rain or storms keep balloons grounded.

“Balloons are great and wonderful,” Looper said. “But if they don’t fly, it’s a problem if you have nothing else going on,” .

This year’s festival will place a stronger emphasis on activities for children.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will host a fishing event for children from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, with fishing poles provided. Unforgettable Foam will operate from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and again from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Yampitheater Playhouse will offer children’s train rides from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $5 per rider. Kite making and flying for children ages 12 and younger will run from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Another new feature will give members of the public an opportunity to experience a balloon firsthand. Wild West Balloon Adventures will offer tethered rides beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday for $25 per person, weather permitting. A tethered balloon rises above the ground while remaining secured by ropes rather than flying across the area.

The festival’s regular balloons are privately operated and do not offer public rides.

Saturday will begin with registration for the Memorial Regional Health Flying Colors 5K and 1-mile run and walk at 6 a.m. The races begin at 7 a.m.

Other activities include the Colorado Cruisers Classic Car Show, the Northwest Colorado Health Duck Race, bingo, food and craft vendors and the VFW Post 4265 beer garden.

The Cardboard Boat Regatta will return for its sixth year at the pond in Loudy-Simpson Park. Registration begins at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the competition at 1:30 p.m.

Teams build boats from cardboard and race across the pond. Awards recognize the fastest boats that finish with their crews still aboard, while the Titanic Award goes to the most memorable sinking.

Looper said participation dropped last year after the regatta had attracted about 15 to 20 boats in previous years. Organizers are encouraging local groups, families and businesses to enter this year’s competition, which will offer a total of $2,000 in prizes.

Music will begin Friday at Alice Pleasant Park near Yampa Valley Brewing Co. Katie Graham will perform from 4 to 5:30 p.m., followed by Apple Pie Order from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Stone Company Music from 8 to 10 p.m.

Saturday’s music at Loudy-Simpson Park will begin with Craig band Faultline at noon. The Grocery Story, a blues and rockabilly group, will perform at 2:30 p.m. The Sean Moon Band will return at 5 p.m. after a storm shortened its performance last year.

Dreamboat Annie, a tribute band performing music by Heart, Journey and Led Zeppelin, will headline from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

The Saturday balloon glow, or candlestick display, is expected to begin about 8:30 p.m., depending on weather. Organizers schedule the headlining band and glow to overlap, allowing illuminated balloons and burners to become part of the concert backdrop.

The arrangement began accidentally several years ago when sound problems pushed a concert later than planned. The unexpected overlap proved popular, and organizers turned it into a festival tradition.

The event is planned by a volunteer committee whose members begin meeting early in the year. As the festival approaches, meetings increase from monthly to weekly.

The committee includes Maggie St. John, Derek Cleverly, Sam DiGrigoli, Justin Kuhn, Molly Kleeman, Tim Womble, Ben Hawks and Randy Looper.

The festival’s budget has grown from about $9,000 in 2010 to approximately $92,000 this year. Much of that support comes from local businesses and residents through cash sponsorships, donated services and equipment.

Those contributions help organizers cover pilot lodging, meals, propane and travel expenses as well as entertainment and event operations.

Funding remains one of the festival’s largest long-term challenges, Looper said. The loss of funding from the Local Marketing District has left organizers more dependent on sponsorships and reserves.

The committee expects to continue the festival in the near term, though Looper said future events could become smaller without replacement funding.

He encouraged residents who value free local events to support the businesses that sponsor them.

“The reason why they’re free is because the merchants of Craig support our events,” Looper said.

The festival also depends on volunteer balloon crews. Looper said several pilots are arriving without full crews, making community help especially important Friday morning. Without enough people to assist with inflation and launch preparations, some balloons may be unable to fly.

For pilots, the festival has also become a place of continuity. Several have returned nearly every year since the event began.

For more information, visit MCBalloonFestival.com.