Up Up and Away at the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta

Atlantic Canada’s Most Colourful Festival

There are few sights quite like looking up and seeing a sky filled with hot air balloons. Every September, Sussex, New Brunswick, becomes the setting for one of Atlantic Canada’s most colourful festivals, the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta.

For four days, colourful balloons rise above the town and surrounding countryside, while the action continues on the ground with live entertainment, food vendors, markets, amusement rides and family activities. You can simply find a spot on the field and watch the balloons take flight, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, climb into a basket and see Sussex from above.

The 2026 Atlantic Balloon Fiesta runs Thursday, September 10 to Sunday, September 13, at Princess Louise Park. Thirty hot air balloons are expected to launch twice daily, weather permitting, with early morning and early evening flights. Admission to the festival is free.

Plan Your Visit at a Glance

What: Atlantic Balloon Fiesta, a four-day hot air balloon festival with balloon launches, live entertainment, markets, food vendors and family activities

Where: Princess Louise Park, Sussex, New Brunswick

When: Thursday, September 10 to Sunday, September 13, 2026

Admission: Free

Balloon launches: Twice daily, early morning and early evening, weather permitting

Balloon rides: Available for purchase; 2026 flights are listed at $350 per person

Best photo opportunities: Balloon launches and the evening Moon Glow

Good to know: Bring a lawn chair, water and sun protection, and dress for cool September mornings and evenings. Balloon flights and some activities are weather dependent.

Official information: Atlantic Balloon Fiesta

With the basics out of the way, let’s get to the part that keeps bringing me back.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. — Helen Keller

A Sussex Tradition Worth Seeing

The Atlantic Balloon Fiesta has become a much-loved annual tradition in Sussex, drawing balloonists and visitors together for a weekend that feels as much like a community celebration as a major festival. And that community spirit doesn’t happen by accident. The Fiesta depends on sponsors, volunteers and local landowners who make their fields available to balloonists. It’s one of those events where you can feel the local pride in what Sussex has created.

My advice? Come prepared to stay awhile. Bring a lawn chair, grab something to eat, wander the grounds and give yourself time to watch the balloons being prepared for flight. The anticipation is part of the fun. Because while the balloons are unquestionably the stars, there is plenty happening below them.

More Than Balloons

If you arrive between launches, you won’t be standing around wondering what to do. The Atlantic Balloon Fiesta features live entertainment at the bandstand, indoor and outdoor markets, food vendors, amusement rides and plenty of activities for families.

Sunday’s Antique Car Show & Shine is another popular attraction, and the festival has a long-standing connection with the New Brunswick geology community as well.

I’ve attended the Fiesta several times, and no matter how much is happening on the ground, I still find myself watching the sky. It’s hard not to. Each balloon has its own colours, patterns and personality. As the envelopes fill with hot air, they slowly rise from the field, one after another, until suddenly the sky is dotted with enormous floating works of art.

And just when you think you’ve seen the best part, stay for the evening.

The Magical Moon Glow

One of my favourite Fiesta experiences is the Moon Glow. After the balloons return from an evening flight, some are inflated again and tethered to the ground. As darkness settles in, the pilots fire their burners, illuminating the balloons from within. For a few magical moments, the field becomes a sea of glowing colour.

The Moon Glow has become one of the festival’s signature evening spectacles, with recent Fiesta schedules featuring Moon Glow events on Friday and Saturday nights.

It’s also a photographer’s dream, so if you have your camera with you, this is one evening you won’t want to rush home from.

But ballooning has a fascinating history long before those glowing envelopes began lighting up the Sussex sky.

The First Balloon Passengers Were a Sheep, a Duck and a Rooster

Here’s a fun bit of ballooning trivia to share with the kids. On September 19, 1783, the Montgolfier brothers launched a hot air balloon at Versailles carrying three very unusual passengers: a sheep, a duck and a rooster. They were the first living creatures to fly in a balloon. The flight was an experiment to determine whether living beings could survive a balloon ascent, and all three animals survived. Just over two months later, on November 21, 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes made the first free, untethered balloon flight carrying humans. Their flight lasted about 25 minutes.

More than two centuries later, ballooning still has a way of making people stop, look up and wonder.

And at the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta, you don’t have to settle for watching from the ground.

Take to the Skies

Imagine arriving before sunrise, watching a giant balloon slowly take shape on the field, climbing into the basket and then feeling the ground disappear beneath you. That’s the experience waiting for those who book a balloon ride at the Fiesta. Balloon launches are scheduled twice daily, in the early morning and early evening, although flights are always dependent on weather conditions.

Years ago, I surprised my husband with a balloon flight for our second wedding anniversary at a festival in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I still remember the exhilaration of liftoff, the remarkable quiet once we were airborne and the champagne toast after landing. It remains one of our most treasured travel memories. So yes, I dream of doing it again. And Sussex would be a pretty wonderful place for the second chapter.

For 2026, balloon flights are listed at $350 per person. The Fiesta’s information indicates that reservations can be made online here or through the on-site information booth in Golden Jubilee Hall, with a limited number of tickets available in person. [Check the Fiesta’s current balloon ride information before your visit for booking details and any changes.]

If you’re thinking about going up, don’t leave it until the last minute. Balloon rides are weather dependent and availability is limited.

And then there are the balloons themselves. Some are beautiful. Some are quirky. A few are downright unforgettable.

Memorable Balloons

Over the years, the Fiesta has welcomed some wonderfully distinctive balloons. In 2018, “The Boy & The Girl,” a married pair of balloons from the Netherlands, made their Sussex debut. Designed to fly together, the two balloons have a playful way of appearing to kiss before heading off into the sky. It’s exactly the kind of moment that makes ballooning so much fun. You never quite know what you’re going to see. The Fiesta has also welcomed the whimsical Whale Balloon, another memorable design that has captured plenty of attention over the years.

And there is another bit of ballooning fun you might notice while watching the launches: the unofficial competition over who gets into the air first and who is happy to be the last balloon standing on the field. Every launch has its own rhythm. Some balloons are ready to go almost immediately. Others take a little longer to prepare. Then, one by one, they lift away, drifting wherever the wind decides to take them. That unpredictability is part of the magic.

Life is a Beautiful Ride

After several visits to the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta, I’ve learned that you don’t need to take a balloon ride to enjoy the experience. Sometimes the best view is simply from a lawn chair, watching an enormous balloon rise above the Sussex countryside with your camera in hand.

But if you’ve ever dreamed of flying in a hot air balloon, this could be your chance.

The Atlantic Balloon Fiesta brings together colourful balloons, family fun, live entertainment and a whole lot of community spirit for one memorable September weekend in New Brunswick. It’s an event that appeals to photographers, families, festival lovers, curious kids and anyone who simply enjoys looking up.

For me, it’s also a reminder of how much fun it is to try something a little different. Life really is a beautiful ride. So come to Sussex this September, find a place on the field, look up and let the balloons do the rest.

colourful stipe lifting.jpg — Life is about using the whole box of crayons. — Ru Paul

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. — Mark Twain

Let Sussex Surprise YOU!

While you’re in Sussex for the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta, don’t make the festival your only stop. Sussex is known for its colourful murals, local shops and cafés, arts and culture, antique stores and surrounding countryside. It’s also a great jumping-off point for exploring the Fundy Foothills and the rural landscapes of southern New Brunswick.

From covered bridges and farm country to quirky roadside attractions and local places to eat, there’s plenty to discover once you leave the festival grounds.

Read my guide to Sussex, New Brunswick: Let Sussex Surprise You! The balloons may be what brings you to town, but you might be surprised by what keeps you exploring.

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