Enjoy Good Food and Live Music at the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race

The 32nd annual Great Mississippi River Balloon Race will be held October 20th-22nd in Natchez, Mississippi. Join the city of Natchez on the grounds of the historic Rosalie Mansion for a weekend of family fun.

This year, the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race will include a carnival, live music, arts and crafts booths, and of course, good eats. Local vendors will serve up regional culinary treats and classic fair foods, plus there will be an Oktoberfest-style bier garden, called Bluffotberfest, featuring a variety of craft beers.

The weekend kicks off on Friday morning with an early morning balloon flight. Festival gates will open at 6 p.m. Friday evening with a balloon glow to follow. Saturday and Sunday's events go on all day long, with bands throughout the day and balloon flights both afternoons as well.

Come hungry, because food will be aplenty on the fairgrounds. Local vendors will set up shop and will be serving up fair foods and other local eats. Items such as funnel cakes, nachos, corndogs, snow cones, chicken-on-a-stick, and onion rings will be available, as well as Cajun and seafood dishes. Alligator-on-a-stick, redfish, Cajun strew, seafood pockets, crab cakes, jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish cornbread, and shrimp baskets are just a few items you can fill up on at the races. Be sure to also check out the Blufftoberfest bier garden for craft beers.

More information about the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race can be found on their Facebook. Tickets are on sale here, or you can purchase them at the Historic Natchez Foundation.