See the Great Prosser Balloon Rally Today thru Sunday!

The Yakima Valley will be filled with rising colors this weekend as the Great Prosser Balloon Rally kicks off. Balloons take off at sunrise and there will also be a night glow event, a Harvest Festival, Farmers Market, and all-around family fun! Balloons launch from the Prosser airport at 111 Nunn Road. Admission and parking is free! For more details go to VisitYakima.com.

Hot-air balloons have been around for centuries with the first flight having taken place in Paris, France in the year 1783, according to Wikipedia. The whole idea of people going up in a hot-air balloon came from the Chinese sky lantern concept. The little lantern that floats with warm air using just a small candle.

If you think the view is pretty cool from a drone video that you may have taken from several hundred feet up, imagine the view from nearly 20,000 feet up. That's how high these balloons can actually go! I Googled how much a hot air balloon would cost, and for a small two-person unit it's about $22,000, but you can easily spend over $45,000.

The weather is going to be spectacular for this colorful event!