The Lake Champlain Balloon & Craft Festival is anannual three day event which serves as the kick-off to the Burlington, Vermont Festival Season. Held the first weekend of June, it has become the largest of its kind in New England featuring balloons from around the country and at times from around theworld.

Five mass ascensions highlight the weekend and the amazing Balloon Glow is held on Saturday evening atdusk. During the Balloon Glow all balloons remain tethered to the ground and light up simultaneously in the dark. This creates an incredible display of brilliant color against the backdrop of the evening sky.

While the balloons are admittedly the stars of the show, they are just the beginning of a unique threeday festival brimming with special events and activities. The Lake Champlain Balloon & Craft Festival was selected as one of Vermont's Top 10 Spring/Summer Events, one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American BusAssociation, and was the winner of Vermont Parent & Child Magazine's Best Festival in 1995.

The 10th annual festival was presented by Citgo June 5-7, 1998.