Event History

This is the second year for the event.

In late 2008 several pilots from Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska got together to discuss the need for a competitive balloon event in the Midwest over the Memorial Day weekend.  There was an event in Iowa for a few years and many pilots had a desire to have the continued opportunity to compete in an event.

Jason Jones and Old World Balloonery stepped up and organized the inaugural event which had 20 participating pilots.  The midwest has always been one of the major spots for competition ballooning in the United States and the Kansas City Hot Air Balloon Invitational helps to keep this tradition going.