Celebrate Memorial Day Holiday Weekend with Hot Air Balloons

by Staff April 29, 2023

written by Staff April 29, 2023 0 comment

DECATUR-More than 55 big colorful hot-air balloons will fill the sky above Decatur, Ala., the last weekend in May during the annual Alabama Jubilee Hot-Air Balloon Classic. The must-see event of North Alabama is set for Memorial Day weekend, May 27-28, 2023, at Point Mallard Park and features hot air balloons, live music, antique cars and tractors, motorcycles, arts and crafts, fireworks and other family fun with activities on the ground and in the air.

The Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic has become a Memorial Day weekend tradition for many for 46 years. The celebration begins at 6:15 a.m., Saturday, May 27, with the hound and hare balloon race: one balloon flies off the Jubilee field and the others try to follow to see which pilot can get closest to a target put down by the hare balloon.

Saturday also offers the 49th annual Point Mallard Auto Expo, a classic vehicle show, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. behind the former ice complex, and the popular Decatur Art Guild arts and crafts show from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the pavilion. The Bikers for Charity motorcycle show also takes place this day next to T.C. Almon Recreation Center with registration from 7:30 to 10:00 a.m. Southland Flywheelers hosts a show featuring beautifully restored and maintained tractors, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tractors will parade at 10 a.m., and at 11 a.m. there will be tractor games and a pedal tractor park for kids 6 years old and under. An afternoon hot-air balloon flight is set for 5:15 p.m., and at 8:15 p.m. the Balloon Glow is a must see as towering balloons of all colors light up Point Mallard Park.

Another round of friendly competition between the hot-air balloon pilots is scheduled Sunday, May 28 with the Lynn Layton Chevrolet Key Grab. Balloons should start flying into the Jubilee field starting about 7 a.m. The Decatur Art Guild arts and crafts show reopens from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., offering festivalgoers plenty of time to shop for handmade items in between the balloon activities. Another balloon fun flight is set to launch about 6:30 p.m.

Bands perform on stage both days at 7 p.m. and the two-day event concludes with the Alabama Jubilee Fireworks Spectacular at 9:30 p.m.

Admission to the Alabama Jubilee is free. Blankets and lawn chairs are encouraged. Pets are strongly discouraged due to the loud noise caused by the balloons and the large number of people present.

All balloon activities are weather permitting. Balloons do not fly, tether or glow in the rain or if wind on the ground is stronger than about 8 mph or if there are thunderstorms nearby. During the Alabama Jubilee, Point Mallard Park is a “No-Drone Zone” according to FAA regulations.

All activities take place inside Point Mallard Park, a 750-acre municipal park providing year-round recreation facilities in Decatur, Ala. For more information and a schedule of events, visit www.alabamajubilee.net.