HUDSON – New street banners will welcome visitors to Hudson when the Hudson Hot Air Affair winter festival and hot air balloon rally starts this weekend (Feb. 3-5). The Hot Air Affair volunteer committee coordinating the event has purchased the colorful banners going up soon in downtown Hudson.

Hot Air Affair will welcome over 30 hot air balloons to the 2023 rally. The balloons are scheduled to participate in morning launches at 7:35 a.m. Feb. 4 and 5 (with cooperation from Mother Nature) and there is an additional balloon launch at 3 p.m. Saturday.

This year there will be a rare treat, with a special display of three hand painted balloons by Charly Markert, a world-famous artist who has painted 50 balloons during his career.

The popular Moon Glow/Field of Fire is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The public can view inflated hot air balloon envelopes light up like giant lanterns. With windy conditions, the event becomes a Field of Fire when the pilots set up their baskets and burners to light up the sky with flames. The Hudson United Methodist Church, 1401 Laurel Ave., will offer shuttle service during the Moon Glow from 5-8:30 p.m. They are accepting free will donations for shuttle service/parking. You are invited to stop inside the church for hot chocolate and a treat from 5-8:30 p.m.

In addition to the balloon events, the weekend is packed full of activities including the Torchlight Parade, pancake breakfast, the marketplace and craft fair, a food drive, the smoosh board competition, bean bag tournament, the St. Croix River Dunk, bingo, The Moonlight Cabaret, a Bloody Mary Crawl, a fat bike race, kids’ ice fishing and more.

The Hot Air Affair is made possible through the support of many local sponsors including WESTconsin Credit Union, who is returning as the corporate sponsor.

Visit the Hot Air Affair website to learn about the upcoming event activities at HudsonHotAirAffair. com or view event listings on Facebook and Instagram.

Submitted by Hudson Hot Air Affair Committee