The early morning ascension of hot air balloons is a breathtaking experience. The 5:45AM launch time may seem daunting, but to sweeten the pot, Hayden’s Lake Front Grill is preparing you an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. Enjoy mouth watering pancakes either plain or smothered in butter and syrup while you enjoy the early morning hot air balloon launches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The festival lasts all weekend and events include morning hot air balloon launches, food, Festival of Cars, a Rogue beer garden, carnival rides, a premier youth soccer tournament, a BBQ contest, night glowing balloons and a whole lot more. View the complete schedule of events online.

If you’re not an early riser you won’t get to see the launches, but you’ll get to see the glow. Friday and Saturday nights starting at dusk there will be a number of balloons inflated and lit up on the field for festival goers to see.

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I finally made it to Tigard Oregon’s new park. It’s rad. Quirky, but fun. It was a total zoo there because the weather was nice, but it was still a blast. A few BMX guys were getting bent out of shape by some perceived snaking, but it was really just a case of too many people and too much going on to keep tabs on everyone. If you bring a bag into the park, a city ordinance says the cops can search it. I’m not sure how the ACLU feels about that. So that weird double level coping setup that looks like it’s a big mistake is actually a lot of fun. You’re free to ignore the top layer if you want, but you also have the option of figuring out multiple lines that incorporate it. Lip tricks on the top layer look rad in combination with a roll in or lip trick on the lower layer. It’s set up in such a way that you don’t have to be Joe-pro skater to use that top layer, but if you are then more power to you. I didn’t get a lot (OK, any) shots in the wide open area. I was more interested in skating there my first day, so I made my photo opps as quick as possible. More after the jump.

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