Art & Balloon Festival, Lincoln, Illinois

The Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival is a photographer's dream. Last year we happened to be driving from BN to Springfield on our way to Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Park during the Friday evening launch. It was an awesome experience. People were pulling over on I-55 to watch and I was snapping my little digital camera as fast as I could and wishing I'd brought my SLR.
Don't miss an opportunity to see the "mass ascension" at 6:00 pm Friday, August 24 or Saturday, August 25. It is a spectacle of color and lasts a long time (as long as the wind is under 10 mph).

Besides the awesome balloon flights, it's a good festival with an art fair, a bocce ball tournament, a beer and wine tent with live music, and an antique car show. For $5 children 2-10 can craft at an art project tent.