Photo gallery: Up, up and away in popular Sandy festival
Crew members help direct a balloon as it inflates during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Thanks to cooperative winds, the Sandy City Balloon Festival soared to fun heights on Saturday.
This year’s festival featured a record 17 balloons, including special shapes such as an owl, a black sheep and “Joelly the Bee,” piloted by America’s first paraplegic hot air balloon pilot, Michael Glen.
The morning festival events included the flight of the balloons, music, free balloons for the kids, and food.
Friday morning’s event was postponed due to unfavorable conditions.
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Deseret News photojournalist Lukas Katilius got up early Saturday to greet the sunrise and the balloonists.
Zach Clark places padding on the bars of his basket during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Cole Raymond, 9, right, watches as another boy intentionally lets go of his balloon during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
A crew works to inflate their balloon during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Balloons begin to fly into the air during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Curt Bramble, a pilot for the Stars and Stripes balloon, points to the sky as pilots talk to one another at a pilot briefing during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Pilots and crew watch as a piball, short for pilot balloon, floats into the air to measure the weather during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Two crew members walk with their balloon as it inflates during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
A crew member works to get his balloon up during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Doug Kelly and Timna Fischbein watch the Chick-fil-A balloon float down to an open field near Dimple Dell Recreation Center from a Harley-Davidson in Sandy during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Two crew members work to fill their balloon during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Meghann Hyde, right, and her children Alice, 6, and Liam, 8, lay on their backs as they watch balloons float above during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Two girls look up at a balloon during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Onlookers wander around the field as a balloon is filled with cool air during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
A crew member holds out the bottom of a hot air balloon allowing for cool air to enter during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
The Chick-fil-A balloon flies above neighborhoods during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Balloonists fly low above houses during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Addi the shih tzu watches balloons land in an open field near Dimple Dell Recreation Center in Sandy during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Balloons float down to an open field near Dimple Dell Recreation Center during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
The pilot of the Carried Away hot air balloon prepares for takeoff during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Brothers Blake DeMartini, left, and Luke DeMartini, right, watch as a piball, short for pilot balloon, floats into the air to check the weather during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Balloons begin to bloom as they prepare for liftoff during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Two crew members work to fill their balloon during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Crew members of the Black Sheep balloon begin to pull it out from its container during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Hot air balloons begin to bloom during the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Balloons float over neighborhoods during the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Crew members fill their balloon with cool air during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Heather Watkins fills her balloon ‘pebbles’ during the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Ryan Mahoney, a crew member of the balloon ‘Pebbles,’ directs its landing path during the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. The balloon was forced to land due to high winds. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Balloonists begin to fill their balloons up during the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
The crew of the balloon ‘Pebbles’ works to take it down after landing in a suburban neighborhood during the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. The balloon was forced to land due to high winds. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Heather Watkins and her crew get her balloon, pebbles, ready for flight during the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
Two balloonists surround Heather Watkins’ basket to feel the warmth of her burners during the second day of the Sandy Hot Air Balloon Festival held at Storm Mountain Park on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News
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