The One Of A Kind Festival You Won’t Find Anywhere But Cleveland

Festivals are one of the best ways to spend a beautiful day around Cleveland. While there are many incredible fests that take over the Forest City in the summer, you have to venture outside the city limits to experience one festival that soars above the competition.

Ashland BalloonFest is a summer festival held in Ashland, Ohio, just a short drive's distance from Cleveland. It offers some of the most unforgettable gravity-defying entertainment you will ever see.

The festival has been held annually for 27 years, but manages to outdo itself in high-flying entertainment every time.

There have been dozens of balloons in the skies over Ashland since 1990. Some are perennial favorites that fly every year, while others have been truly unique once-in-a-lifetime balloons, so you'll never know what to expect when you visit.

There are no public balloon rides available at Ashland BalloonFest, but being able to watch the balloons soar overhead is arguably more beautiful.

Don't like being stuck on the ground while the balloons float above? Not to worry, as Ashland BalloonFest offers so much more than a bunch of hot air, from food stands and carnival games to live music and entertainment.

Even when unpredictable weather conditions keep the balloons grounded like during last year's festival, being able to view these huge flying machines up close and personal is its own reward.

As amazing as it can be to see a sky filled with balloons from down below, the view from aboard one of them is even more magical.

After the sun sets, the characteristic glow of an inflated hot-air balloon in flight is a breathtaking sight against the night sky.

Just don't get too close to the towering flames that keep them afloat.

Ashland BalloonFest is one of northeast Ohio's most unique summer traditions. You owe it to yourself to see these marvelous balloons take over the skies of Ashland at least once.

Ashland BalloonFest takes flight this summer from the weekend of June 29-July 1. For more information, please visit the festival's website here.

Have you been to this incredible high-flying festival? Tell us what it was like in the comments!