Forest Park held its annual balloon glow at Center Field the night of Sept. 20. It is a family-friendly event that is used to showcase the hot air balloons that would have participated in ‘The Great Forest Park Balloon Race’ on Sept. 21 but it was cancelled.

“The balloons [are my favorite part],” Jade Caldwell, a person at the glow, said. “I have never seen a hot air balloon in person before, just on TV or in a movie, so that’s been really great.”

Due to the windy and rainy weather conditions, the people manning the balloons were asked to remove the balloon and just leave the basket on the ground. The balloonist still used their propane and sent a shower of sparks in the air when an RV sounded its horn.

“A lot of the people that I work with that have lived in St. Louis for a long time and they have said that this is one of the really big traditions here, and since it’s our first year to live in St. Louis we just really wanted to make sure we could experience it for the first time,” Caldwell said.

This night was not just about the hot air balloons but was a part of a charity event for the Humane Society of Missouri. People attending the event were offered the chance to buy a ticket to go into their special VIP area that housed food, auctions, and unique balloons that were also up for sale. 

“It raises money for our animal cruelty fund, which supports our animal cruelty task force,” Shana Cook, a Special Events Manager for the Humane Society said. “Those are the officers that go in and take animals out of dangerous situations.”