One Of My Favorite Winter Festivals Returns Soon In Western Wisconsin!

Pardon the pun, but attending this Wisconsin festival has been known to lift spirits and leave you with a warm glow.

Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I am excited about the return of one of my favorite winter events in the region  - set to happen in early February 2026. I am talking, of course, about the Hudson Hot Air Affair in Hudson, Wisconsin!

Since being introduced to this event a few years ago, I've been an annual attendee, making a little weekend trip out of visiting this free, family-friendly, picture-perfect winter festival just across the border from the Twin Cities.

The centerpiece of this festival (weather permitting) is to see a bunch of hot air balloons take flight through the festival weekend. Even if the weather isn't 100% cooperative, it is still absolutely worth the visit! Here's what I mean by that.

READ MORE: Common Questions & Other Info About The Hudson Hot Air Affair

For the festival weekend, there are a couple of scheduled balloon launch flight times along with other activities through the weekend. If flight conditions are favorable (light wind, good visibility, clear sky/high cloud ceiling), you can watch the attending hot air balloons lift off and float away in a beautiful spectacle during the morning launch windows festival weekend.

There is an alternate Saturday afternoon window to try again if things don't work in the morning.

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Whether the weather cooperates or not for flights during the earlier parts of the day through the weekend, the evening festivities on the Saturday night of the festival are sure to amaze!

If the weather is cooperative (mostly, if it isn't windy), they do something called a "Moon Glow", where they inflate the balloons, running the burners that keep them inflated to make them glow like giant lanterns. They don't take off, but the spectacle, which you can see in the photos in this post, is something amazing to see!

If the weather isn't cooperative, they do something called a "Field of Fire", where they don't inflate the balloons, but the operators just run their burners to create a cool spectacle of fires burning around the field where they host the evening's events.

Needless to say, there are lots of potentially awesome visuals to see, even if the weather isn't perfect.

The 2026 Hudson Hot Air Affair will be held Friday, February 6, through Sunday, February 8, with scheduled hot air balloon launches at 7:35 am on Saturday and Sunday morning, with the alternate on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm.

The night glow event is scheduled to start at 6:15 on Saturday night.

There are a bunch of other things to do tied to the event through the weekend, including a craft fair, games, and other fun. You can see the full schedule and learn more about this year's balloons making an appearance on the Hudson Hot Air Affair website.