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Columbus Day Festival & Hot Air Balloon Regatta
This event has ended.
These were the 2026 dates. The next dates will show here once the organizer announces them.
- When
- (3 days · Ended October 11, 2026)
- Where
- Columbus, KS
- Date source
- Organizer site · columbusdayballoons.com
Official siteMap (OpenStreetMap)
About this event
The Columbus Day Festival and Hot Air Balloon Regatta turns Columbus, Kansas, over to prairie ballooning, hometown stages, and small-town gatherings. Night brings a balloon glow and a fireworks finale; mornings bring a mass ascension and a sunrise launch, plus a hare-and-hound race between balloons, weather permitting, at SW 20th Street. Downtown adds a scarecrow contest on the square and Maple Street, a quilt show at St. Rose Parish Hall, a bean feed, the Little Mr. and Miss Columbus crowning on the courthouse steps, a church pancake breakfast, a parade, wheat threshing with more than 40 pedal tractors, and a car and motorcycle show.
Our take: Catch the Friday balloon glow and fireworks, then come back Saturday morning for the regatta lift-off.
Parking
Enter from West Maple Street onto Riverside Drive to SW 20th Street. A car pass covers all balloon-event parking.
Good to know
Friday gates 5 pm, balloon glow 7 pm, fireworks 8:30 pm. Saturday regatta lift-off 7 to 7:30 am, weather permitting. Sunday sunrise launch 6:30 am.
More upcoming events nearby and in Kansas
- Neewollah: festival in Independence, KS — October 23 - 31, 2026.
- Louisburg Cider Mill Family Farm: festival in Louisburg, KS — September 11 - November 1, 2026.
- Shively Farms Pumpkin Patch: pumpkin patch in Berryton, KS — September 19 - November 8, 2026.
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USA Fest Bot is not affiliated with this event and sells no tickets. Dates can change, so confirm on the official site before you go (how dates work). See something wrong? Send a correction.