Despite the heat and no hot air balloons, Kansas Citians have fun at KC’s Great Balloon & Puppet Glow

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Extreme heat and high winds put a damper on Kansas City’s Great Balloon and Puppet Glow. The event was set up on the lawn at the National World War I Museum and Memorial.

At around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, event organizers pulled the plug on the hot air balloon portion of the event. Winds were consistent throughout the day and never got to speeds low enough where the pilots were comfortable to launch the balloons. The balloons were set to be tethered to the ground, but even with that precaution, the wind speeds were still too high.

In addition, event goers faced heat indices that were well above 100 degrees throughout the day. Still, many were happy to be with other people in an iconic Kansas City location.

“It’s really awesome to see all the people and this space being used for something good,” said Cindy Kyte, who was visiting with her grandsons from Hutchinson, Kansas.

“I think it would be great if we had something here every weekend,” said Matt Wagner from Independence, Missouri.

While no one got to see hot air balloons at the event on Saturday, WWI museum goers will soon have a new item to see in the gallery. Museum and Memorial management told KCTV5 they have just acquired a basket from a WWI surveillance balloon. It will soon be on display in the museum.

Copyright 2023 KCTV. All rights reserved.