Coney Island’s Balloon Glow returns for its 22nd year

This Fourth of July, it won’t just be fireworks that are lighting up the night sky. At Coney Island, more than a dozen hot air balloons will also brighten up the night during the park’s annual Balloon Glow event.

The 22nd annual Coney Island Balloon Glow is happening July 3 and promises to be a day packed with family fun. “It’s a hot air balloon festival with over 12 hot air balloons that glow in the back of the park,” says Marley Wallace, assistant brand manager at Coney Island. The balloons will stay on the ground while they inflate and glow, giving those who attend the event the opportunity to get up close and personal with hot air balloons.

“And then we finish off the night with some fireworks from Rozzi Fireworks. We’ll have six interactive inflatables throughout the park and there’ll be big interactive inflatable obstacle courses. We’ll have carnival games and carnival food throughout the park.”

In addition to enjoying the event, visitors can also arrive as early as 10 a.m. to enjoy all that Coney Island has to offer, including the Sunlite Water Adventure, which will remain open until 9:30 p.m.

“The Sunlite Water Adventure features the Sunlite Pool, which is the nation’s largest recirculating pool. We’ve got the largest Aqua Glide pool obstacle course in the United States, which features over 150 feet of climbing obstacles, balance beams, monkey bars and more. We’ve also got our Typhoon Tower splash ground, which is an interactive play station with 75 interactive plays stations and water slides, and also the world’s largest erupting hydro storm tower. We’ve got over a quarter mile of water slides with our Twister water slides and a couple of water slides that are actually inside of the pool,” says Wallace.

In addition, the park has the Cannonball Cove diving pool with three diving boards; a dry play area that features a large jump pad, an inflatable obstacle course, inflatable ax throwing and arts and crafts; paddleboats; mini golf; and more.

While the Balloon Glow is certainly a highlight of Coney Island’s summer schedule, the park is hosting several other events this summer. On June 23, Coney Island is looking to host the world’s largest swim lesson, its second world-record attempt after its attempt to beat the record for the most people down a waterslide in 24 hours earlier in June. July 13 is National French Fry Day, and the park will be offering a buy one, get one free deal on its French fries all day long. Tickets deals will also be offered July 28 (National Waterpark Day) and Aug. 8-12 (First Responders & Healthcare Worker Appreciation Week).

“It’s going to be a fun summer. Our demand has never been higher, so we’re hoping for a really great season,” says Wallace.