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The 21st edition of the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival, held August 29th until September 1st 2008, was blessed with beautifully clear skies, fabulously warm weather and moderately mild winds.

The festival is held annually on Labour Day weekend, starting on the Friday and finishing on the Monday. With an evening lift-off on Friday, and dawn and dusk flights each day for the rest of the festival, there are plenty of viewing opportunities to the enthusiast.

The festival grounds in de la Baie Park, Gatineau is the starting point of the flights. The festival admission fee not only allows you to admire the balloons close-up, but also gives you access to concerts, amusement park rides, extreme sport demonstrations, kids’ play areas, the craft market, buskers and the strongman competition.

Many parks along the Ottawa River afford magnificent views of the balloon launchs for free. On the Ontario side of the river, the best vistas are had from Rockcliffe Park.

On the Québec side of the river, Jacques-Cartier Park to the North-East of the MacDonald-Cartier Bridge provides many balloon-gazing spots. Just across the Gatineau River from the festival grounds, the Lac Leamy Ecological Park is another option on the Québec side. As the wind carries the balloons across the sky, the aircraft can be seen from many areas of Ottawa and Gatineau; one just has to look up.

The festival features a great number of traditional balloons, along with several special shapes. The 2008 edition included a bumble bee, a dinosaur or dragon, a court jester’s head, Darth Vader’s head, a lady bug, a pirate, a panda and Mr. Peanut.

In 2007, a highlight was the impressive space shuttle balloon, Jesus Christ on a cloud balloon, and a bugle dog balloon which landed on a motorway.

Most of the pilots bringing their balloons are from Ontario, Québec and the United States, with a few coming from as far away as Europe. The festival’s website (see bottom of post)  provides a list of balloonists, the name of their entry and their place of origin.

A fun festival past-time is balloon chasing. The balloons make their descent around Ottawa in small parks and other less optimal locations.

For more details, see the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival website: www.balloongatineau.com or www.montgolfieresgatineau.com.

Now in its fifth year, this lantern festival is a one-evening-only event put on by the Crichton Cultural Community Centre of Ottawa, with lantern-making workshops in the preceeding weeks.

Held at New Edinburgh Park along the Rideau River, the 2008 Ottawa Lumiere Festival saw fairies, a labyrinth made of candles in paper bags, a variety of hand made lanterns, fire weavers, fire eaters, jugglers, stilt walkers, drummers, artists, belly dancers and more. The August 9th festival also coincided with the Feux Loto-Québec at Lac Lemay pyrotechnics display, visible from the Rideau Falls, not far from New Edinburgh Park.

The public has taken to dressing up for the festival, with grown women and small babes alike donning fairy, goddess and animal costumes.

If you have a yearning to frolic in a park at twilight in a tutu, with a pair of tulle wings strapped to your back, this is the place where you can let loose.

There were several complex lantern displays, lit with LEDs to avoid the re-lighting problem encountered with candles.

Real candles lit up a number of different lanterns: paper bags in a labyrinth, tin cans dressed up as flowers, painted jam jars, and a plethora of chinese lanterns.

The night came to a close with a performance showcase, including a fiery diabolo, jugglers with fire clubs, belly dancers with lit candelabras, and a contortionist.

The Fire Weavers were the highlight of the showcase, mastering many flaming objects such as nunchuks, hoola hoops, and clubs.

Here you can see one of the Fire Weavers swinging a firey hoola hoop between her legs!

As the smell of paraffin filled the dimly lit night, it was hard to think of a more lovely place to be.

Read more details at http://lumiereottawa.com.

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