Schedule released for hot air balloon festival on Memorial Day weekend

The upcoming First Fruits Farm Memorial Balloon Festival will include live music, nightly fireworks and balloon rides.

The festival is planned Memorial Day weekend, May 28-31, at First Fruits Farm in Louisburg.

The festival will include hot air balloon rides, chainsaw wood carving, a food truck rodeo, carnival rides, a Frisbee disc dog show, nightly fireworks and a beer garden. An All Veterans Group Parachute Team and The Bandit Flight Team will also be making appearances.

There will also be live music on the main stage throughout the weekend. Performers include Halifax-native and NBC's The Voice finalist Brooke Simpson, Rae Radick, Ryan Daniel, American Bombshells and Paige King Johnson.

Operation Coming Home will also present the keys to a new home to a wounded veteran during the weekend's events.

The festival opens at 2 p.m. Friday, May 28, with the first act taking the stage at 3:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies will start at 5 p.m. Music will continue until the gates close at 10 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday (May 29-30), gates will open at noon and there will be entertainment from 2 p.m. until gates close at 10 p.m.

On Memorial Day, May 31, festival goers will not need a ticket. Activities will be limited with closing ceremonies starting at 11 a.m.

Those wanting to book hot air balloon flights should contact a participating pilot in advance. Rides are $275 per person.

Tethered rides will take place on site from 6 to 9 p.m. daily, weather-permitting. Rides are $20 for adults and $10 for children under 12 years old. Only cash will be accepted. Tethered rides are done on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets for the First Fruits Farm Memorial Balloon Festival are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 6 to 12 years old. Tickets can be purchased in advance online or at the gate. VIP ticket packages ($85 for adults and $50 for children ages 6 to 12 years old) include event admission, a preferred parking pass and access to The Gondola Club, which will include snacks, beverages and dinner in a tented area.

More than 100 acres of parking is available on-site for the event. Organizers have booked Mott McDonald Engineering to plan traffic flow, parking and pedestrian flow on the venue. The same group helped planned the US Open in Pinehurst.

First Fruits Farm was founded by former NFL lineman Jason Brown and wife, Tay.

Memorial Day weekend has been a popular time for hot air balloon festivals in the past. In 2015, the WRAL Freedom Balloon Festival was held in Zebulon. From 2016 through 2018, the festival was held in Fuquay-Varina.