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CINCINNATI — Now that most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, families are finding creative ways to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. That’s especially the case for southwest Ohio families who explored the glowing hot air balloons at Coney Island for the first time since 2019.

Brian Trapp was the balloon pilot for the 21st Annual Balloon Glow at Coney Island on Saturday night.

“Got a balloon ride once a long time ago — 40 years ago,” said Trapp. “I was scared and I really decided I wanted to learn how to do it.”

He was up early, getting everything set up for the show at night. From rolling out the air balloon to attaching it to the basket, it’s a process to getting everything together.

“About 15 minutes or so to put the balloon together and about another 15 minutes or so to fill it up with air,” he said. “And once we turn the burner on, within a few seconds it’s standing up and it’s ready.”

By nightfall, Trapp will have set up close to a dozen colorful glowing hot air balloons.  They may not seem that big from afar, but most are much bigger than house.

“It’s probably 90 feet tall and about 40 feet wide and generally some of them are going to be 80 feet, maybe 100 feet tall, and about 60 feet wide,” he said. 

Although there weren’t any rides or tethering during the balloon glow, families got the opportunity to see the hot air balloons up close and personal.

“Crowds can come up to the balloons and once the balloons are all set up they can talk to the pilots,” he said. “I always like to give people involved. Let’s face it, we call want to come up and touch and feel.”

After a year off, Trapp said he was excited to be back on the field and doing what he does best, and looked forward to seeing the smiling faces at night.

“We’re all happy to get past last year,” he said.  “Back to normalcy, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

For more information visit the Coney Island Park website.