Great Forest Park Balloon Race

The Great Forest Park Balloon Race was founded by renowned balloonists Nikki Caplan and John O’Toole in 1973 and taken over by four young, enthusiastic balloonists: John Marlow, John Schaumburg, Dan Schettler, and Ted Staley in 1977. What started with four newly certified balloonists and a whimsical group dubbed the Mississippi River Balloon Transit Company today hails as the organization of the country’s most well-attended, single-day balloon race.

“When we started 34 years ago, only one of us had ever seen a hot-air balloon,” says Marlow, the group’s president and president of the Great Forest Park Balloon Race, Inc. “We didn’t know we needed a license or insurance. We bought an old, used balloon much worse than buying an old, used car and thought we’d jump in and fly away.”

September 20th- September 21th,2024

Established: 1973 ——————————————————–Number of Balloons: 20