TEMECULA, Calif., May 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- What is new at
Southern California Wine Country's biggest party? The Temecula
Valley Balloon & Wine Festival rolls out a feast for all senses
at Lake Skinner Recreation Area, May 31
through June 2, 2019 and organizers have invented new
experiences while improving others.
It starts with eye-popping dawns. As the sun rises over rolling
vineyards, colorful hot air balloons dot the crystalline blue
skies. This is an up-close personal experience where passengers
become part of the crew and photographers are often seen running
towards the shore to capture a coveted image of balloon reflections
in the lake.
Hot Air Balloon flights from the Festival grounds are Saturday
and Sunday and make for the beautiful mass ascensions. All
ballooning activities are for early birds and weather permitting.
Beginning at 5:30 the balloonists spread their canopies and begin
inflating while the riders help. Riders check-in ahead of Festival
gate hours. By 6 a.m. the fields are
full of balloons in various stations of inflation and flying. This
is the best picture taking time.
Reserve a flight at
https://hotairtours.com/grape-escape/booking/balloon/2 and are
$225 per person. The ticket includes
Festival admission, a 45-60-minute flight, a three-hour adventure
discovering how hot air balloons fly, champagne, mimosa or orange
juice toast and a certificate commemorating your flight.
The colorful balloons rise in cool temperatures and cannot fly
in high winds or hot temperatures. For this reason, guests are
advised to get to the Festival early and check the weather. Look
for wind speeds 10 mph or higher, clouds and fog. Winds over 10 mph
will curtail flights and tethers. Low clouds and fog can delay the
launch or cause the balloons to fly outside of the park where skies
are blue. Sometimes they land back inside the park. Tethering,
during low clouds is usually possible.
Afternoons and evenings feature concerts on the main and wine
stages and the lineups this year are packed with exciting lineups.
Friday's lineup includes Chase
Bryant, A Thousand Horses, and the special balloon glow.
Local country favorite Kanan Road will also be playing on the wine
stage. Shannon Rae & 100 Proof
will open the main stage.
Saturday, 3 Doors Down headlines on the main stage sponsored by
Pechanga Resort & Casino. Also performing Saturday are Soul
Asylum and Dishwalla. The Forty Nineteens will open the stage at
4 p.m.
Sunday is country fun day at the Festival with Big & Rich
and Russell Dickerson in concert.
Coffey Anderson will open the show
on the main stage, while Mettle and Electric Vinyl play on the wine
stage. Both Saturday and Sunday will feature bands from iHeart
Radio.
What else is new? Friday features a new evening balloon glow
experience "Toast the Glow" with more balloons lined up on the hill
of the main stage amphitheater. This gives guests a better view of
the synchronized glows. During the glow, the balloons are tethered
to the ground. Pilots ignite their burners – it's that thing that
heats the air inside the canopy – and this causes a luminescent
glow. Add music with a strong beat and you have dancing
balloons.
This is Southern California Wine Country where the vibe is
casual, fine wine abundant and lazy afternoons in the sun are
complemented with a variety of food experiences. Festival food
pairing includes local premium and estate wines paired with
scrumptious cuisine prepared on stage by top regional chefs. The
international food court offers everything from Cajun to Greek, and
All-American burgers to smoked tri-tip.
Temecula's wine country has
experienced explosive growth and wine lovers can enjoy over 50
different wines from up to 18 wineries during the weekend. Wine
Enthusiast magazine named the Temecula Valley one of the 10 Best
Wine Getaways for 2019. The Festival offers a variety of ways to
discover a favorite wine in the valley that is known as Southern
California Wine Country. Wine tasting is $2 per taste. Winemaker reserve packages include
a larger wine glass, plus eight 1-ounce pours. There are only 1,000
of these packages sold, and the tasting is in a private area. Cost
is $35 online.
Between balloons, wine and concerts what can you do at the
Festival? Take a walk on the wild side and visit the Festival's new
watering hole. Guests can relax in the garden setting of the "Moon
Lounge" sip microbrews and play lawn games like corn hole, Jenga
and checkers while kids can bounce away on the inflatable
attractions. Kids and adults can walk on water in giant water balls
or take a short zip line.
Walk on the Wild side is an animal show from Wild Wonders, a
wild animal refuge in Bonsall.
This organization has over 120 animal ambassadors from around the
world and will provide 20-minute shows Saturday and Sunday. Each
presentation showcases these animal ambassadors with descriptions
of their "in-the-wild" home, special adaptations they possess, and
what challenges they face. There are six shows per day.
At the end of the day, Uber, Lyft and ride share guests will
have the Stella Artois Ride Share lounge to relax and refresh while
waiting for their rides. This is a free hot spot zone and provided
by IAS and Southern California Toyota Dealers. Bimbo Bakeries,
USA is providing the lounge with
snacks and grilled cheese sandwiches, while Don Francisco will sponsor the coffee. Water and
other non-alcoholic drinks will be provided.
For more information check http://www.tvbwf.com for scheduled
times and activities or call (951) 676-6713.
For b-roll of the event see: 2019
B-roll
SOURCE Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival