Strathaven Balloon Festival

01/06/2026

This week is and we want to give a huge THANK YOU to our amazing team of volunteers. They are the heart and soul of our event and we simply could not do our event without them.
You will see them wearing their blue t-shirts and sporting a hi-vis jackets throughout the weekend.
If you would like to join our amazing team of volunteers just send us an email at [email protected]
and we will be in touch.
You can also donate to our just giving page to help us fund our event.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/strathaven-balloon-festival-2

14/05/2026

14/05/2026

🎈 Scotland is calling!

We’re proud to create the official custom balloon pins for the famous Strathaven Balloon Festival taking place from 28–30 August 2026! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ✨

A legendary weekend filled with colorful hot air balloons, amazing pilots, night glow, entertainment, and unforgettable skies. And of course… every great festival deserves a great pin 😎📍

Thank you to the Strathaven Balloon Festival team, Scott Neilson and Matthew Smith for trusting us once again with your collectible event pins!

Who’s planning to attend this year? 🎈



Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
🖥 www.myballoonpin.com
📧 [email protected]
📲 +90 533 309 02 49

10/05/2026

Our volunteers enjoyed meeting with a local Boys Brigade group recently - the boys, leaders and parent/guardians had the chance to meet the pilot, to hear more about the operation of a hot air balloon, to help with the setup and inflation, and to ask many questions.

The hot air balloon was tethered to the ground and the boys were able to get up close, before later helping pack the balloon away back into the trailer.

It was another great evening, enjoyed by all, and there are also a few future pilots amongst them we think 🎈.

As the 2026 Strathaven Balloon Festival approaches, we welcome donations from businesses and members of the public, and in doing so you will help ensure the festival takes place year on year. Donations can be made directly through JustGiving https://www.justgiving.com/page/strathaven-balloon-festival-2

08/05/2026

Shout out to these local businesses who have already been in-touch to make a donation and display a banner at the Arena:

Strathaven Airfield
Flowers By The Park
Dramalam
The Heron
Lynn Rankin at Mortgage Market Place
Young’s Garden Centre
Gebbie and Wilson
Poppi’s Ices
Thistle Equine Vets
Riverside Music College
Yee Hong
Guide dogs
Kirkdec Painting and Decorating
DM Hall
The Roof and Gutter Company
WM Hamilton
Murray Paterson
KiltedInk

Thanks for all your support!

There’s still time to secure a banner space at the Arena. Drop an email to [email protected]

A banner space costs £50 per banner, you will be responsible for supplying your own banner to be fixed to Arena railings. Banners should be sized to maximum dimensions of 2 meters wide by 1 meter tall and be capable of being attached to railings by cable ties. Your banner(s) would need to be delivered to the park by 9am on Friday, 28th August 2026.

There are further opportunities to sponsor other event costs – such as being a headline sponsor for the evening glow costs, the stage, the sky divers, our volunteer t-shirts and other costs. Sponsoring a banner on a balloon basket may also be possible. Headline sponsorship starts from £500. To discuss this opportunity further, please contact us.

We also welcome donations from businesses and members of the public, and in doing so you will help ensure the event takes place year on year.

Donations can be made directly through JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/page/strathaven-balloon-festival-2

21/04/2026

Banner Advertising at the Strathaven Balloon Festival

As we approach the 26th anniversary of the Strathaven Balloon Festival, we are looking for local businesses to help sponsor the festival.

We also offer a unique opportunity to promote your business at the event by sponsoring some of the events costs, displaying your advertising banners/logos, or promoting your business on social media/press.

The festival is one of the largest volunteer led community events in Scotland. As a registered charity, we receive no public funding and rely on fundraising through sponsorship, donations and stalls. The charity has no paid staff and is run entirely by local Strathaven volunteers who give up their time freely to support the success of this community event.

A banner advertising space costs £50 per banner, you will be responsible for supplying your own banner to be fixed to Arena railings. Banners should be sized to maximum dimensions of 2 meters wide by 1 meter tall and be capable of being attached to railings by cable ties. Your banner(s) would need to be delivered to the park by 9am on Friday, 28th August 2026.

To book your banner space, please contact us at [email protected]

There are further opportunities to sponsor other event costs – such as being a headline sponsor for the evening glow costs, the stage, the sky divers, our volunteer tshirts and other costs.

Sponsoring a banner on a balloon basket may also be possible. Headline sponsorship starts from £500. To discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at [email protected]

We also welcome donations from businesses and members of the public, and in doing so you will help ensure the event takes place year on year.

Donations can be made directly through JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/page/strathaven-balloon-festival-2

Strathaven Balloon Festival
Charity Number SC046563

06/04/2026

There is still time.
Join our amazing team of volunteers.
Be part of our festival in 2026.

Preparations are well underway for our 2026 festival and our amazing Hot Air Balloon Festival is looking for volunteers.
Our event will take place from the evening of Friday 28th August to Sunday 30th August 2026.
Volunteering is a great way to support our community event and be part of such a momentous occasion.
We need lots of volunteers to help the event run smoothly. From supporting our “Park and Ride” facility to welcoming our visitors to the main park, there are roles to suit everyone.
To register your interest and to find out more, please email your details to [email protected]

06/03/2026

This morning a few of our volunteers visited a local primary school where P6/7 were participating in a STEM event - the School Air Race Challenge - including exploring the principles of flight.

We had planned a short talk in the school hall, but the weather was in their favour and we managed to demonstrate the inflation of a hot air balloon in the school playground.

The sight was quite a distraction for the whole school, with P1-P5 also seeing it all up close and asking lots of questions to the pilot.

Thanks to the volunteers, staff, teachers and pupils for an enjoyable morning sharing the passion 🎈

Join us in Strathaven Park on 28,29,30th August to celebrate the 26th anniversary of Strathaven Balloon Festival. Our free to attend family event is Scotland’s largest volunteer led community event and only hot air balloon festival.

The preparations for 2026 are now well underway. The festival receives no public funding and relies entirely on fundraising, donations and stalls. We have setup a JustGiving page and ask you to donate whatever you can to help fund our free to attend festival, to support the event and ensure it can continue in future years.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/strathaven-balloon-festival-2?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020

04/03/2026

We are well underway with planning for the 2026 festival. We have stage and sound booked, lots of great acts for the main and bandstand stages and many pilots are already confirmed.

We have started our fundraising campaign to raise the funds needed to put the festival on. We are looking for sponsors and business support and we will soon be releasing details of how you can book a stall at the festival.

We have launched our 2026 JustGiving page to require funds. Thank you to everyone who donated last year. You can give individual or business donations through the link below.

Help Strathaven Balloon Festival raise money to support Strathaven Balloon Festival