RECAP: 10th Annual Kalamazoo Balloon Fest A Huge Success With Tons of Smiles, Excitement, and Family-Friendly Fun

 

RECAP: 10th Annual Kalamazoo Balloon Fest A Huge Success

With Tons of Smiles, Excitement, and Family-Friendly Fun


​This past weekend, the Kalamazoo Balloon Fest celebrated 10 years of family-friendly fun and excitement. The event, which was presented by Zeigler Auto Group, kicked off at Gull Meadow Farms on Friday August 26 and ran through last Sunday, August 28, 2022. 


KALAMAZOO, MICH (August 31, 2022) - The Kalamazoo Balloon Fest, presented by Zeigler Auto Group, hit a major milestone this past weekend celebrating 10 years of family-friendly fun at Gull Meadow Farms. Since 2013, the Kalamazoo Balloon Fest has been a source of smiles, excitement and tons of family fun for the local community.


The festivities kicked off on Friday, August 26 with a Media Day that captured its Sunrise Balloon Flight. Excitement filled the air as the day continued with live entertainment, food trucks and craft activities provided by the event's vendors.


 

 


By 6:30 the first flight of the afternoon took off landing at around 8:00p.m. Day one finished off with the first Balloon Glows of the eventing at Gull Meadow Farms with guest sharing some of their best pictures with the hashtag #kalamazooballoonfest2022. The organization will be publishing some of their favorites on their Facebook page in the coming days.



The celebration continued on Saturday, August 27 with the second scheduled balloon flight taking off at 7:00 am and landing into Gull Meadows Farms. The Kalamazoo Balloon Fest also included a car show hosted by Mayor's Class Car Club that was held from 10:00 am to 2:00pm. By 6:30 flight three of the weekend took of and landed in Balloon Field at Gull Meadow Farms. 


 


NASCAR Driver Josh Bilicki, of Spire Motorsports, was also in attendance on Saturday alongside a replica of the Zeigler.com #77 Chevy Camaro wrapped with the MSU Spartan theme used at the Michigan International Speedway last month. The Zeigler-sponsored driver held a meet and greet posing with guest with #77 and also taking a hot air balloon ride alongside Aaron Zeigler, president and owner of Zeigler Auto Group and Derrick Jones, the event's director and renowned hot air balloon pilot.





BlueOx Credit Union, one of the event's top sponsor had its mascot in attendance, also posing for pictures with the event's guests.

 The day's festivities ended with the second, and final Glow of the weekend at Balloon Field. 




Although the final balloon flight couldn't take off due to weather conditions, the event closed on a positive note with the weekend bringing in thousands of spectators that experienced memorable highlights that included the two balloon glows, the two flights, a car show, live entertainment, amazing food and more. 


 



ABOUT ZEIGLER AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 78 franchises across 35 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all of the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers.


Besides its extensive automotive portfolio, the organization owns and operates Zeigler Motorsports, an 85,000-square-foot motorsports dealership and action park, offering 19 different powersports brands, plus its own onsite restaurant: Trak Houz Bar & Grill. Additionally, Zeigler Motorsports houses the Elevate Leadership & Team Building Academy, an executive training company.

 

The Kalamazoo-based dealer group also owns and operates Zeigler Pre-Owned of Chicago, a Carquest Auto Parts store, three Byrider franchises, three finance companies, several insurance firms, and a leasing firm.

 

Founded in 1975, the organization employs over 2,300 people, ranking among the top 1% of automotive dealers in the nation with estimated annual sales of $2.2 billion for 2022. The family-owned and operated company is well known for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Zeigler is regularly recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation, also earning similar accolades in Wisconsin, Chicago, and Michigan.