Overview The Great Reno Balloon Race is a free four-day hot air balloon event in Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, north of downtown Reno, where the gates open at 3:30 in the morning and upwards of 100 balloons launch together at 7. It runs Thursday to Sunday in early September and bills itself as the world's largest free hot-air ballooning event. Each morning the pilots also fly a competition, dropping electronic markers on targets on the ground and on virtual targets in the sky, and Nevada pilots fly for the Nevada State Hot Air Balloon Championship. The race is run as a nonprofit, and sponsorship is what keeps admission free. On site The morning runs on a fixed clock. At 5 about 40 balloons light up on the field to music for the Super Glow Show, and at 5:30 the Dawn Patrol goes up: pilots cleared for night flight fly a choreographed set to music before sunrise. The anthem is at 6:45, the Mass Ascension launches at 7 and tethering starts at 8, with radio-controlled miniature balloons flying in between. Balloon Boulevard, the vendor row, is open from 4:30 to 11. The 2026 field carried 11 special shapes, among them Smokey Bear, Sushi, Montie the Black Sheep and Humpty Dumpty, which gave free tethered rides. The Cloud 9 VIP Club is a clear, heated tent with a 360-degree view of the field and front-row seats outside it, with breakfast and a hosted bar pouring mimosas, bloody marys and hot chocolate. Audience The spectators are on the field in the dark, well before the first balloon lights, and the program is over by late morning. On the Thursday and Friday about 2,000 students from around the region come with their classes to launch tissue paper balloons they built at school. The race's own brochure describes the crowd as Northern Nevada residents and visitors, families and fans from around the world. Talent and Influencers Ron Smith marked his 40th year as the voice of the event in 2022. In 2009 the field included Michael Glen, the first paraplegic hot-air balloon pilot, and Brian Jones, who flew a hot-air replica of the Orbiter 3, the first balloon to fly around the world nonstop. Glen was back in 2026 flying Joelly, one of that year's special shapes. Track record The race started in 1982 with 20 balloons, as a way to keep visitors in Reno the weekend between the State Fair and the Reno Air Races. The Glow Show was added in 1998, the E.L. Cord Foundation launch for schoolchildren in 1999 and the Cloud 9 VIP Club in 2012; the Darth Vader balloon first flew there in 2011. Brand presence The 2026 sponsor page ran from founding and major sponsors through silver and corporate levels to family sponsors and community partners, with named official roles for the livestream, the propane, the sound and stage, the merchandise and the Cloud 9 tent and its catering. A logo balloon sponsor puts its mark on a balloon envelope and rides in it each day, and the sponsor covers the pilot's hotel. Most levels include a balloon ride and tickets to the Pilot Welcome Party.