Cathedral City's Balloon Festival Lifts Off in Rancho Mirage and Glows Downtown
November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
At 6 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, November 20, the first balloons of the 12th annual Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival will be filling at Agua Caliente Casino Rancho Mirage, across the city line from the Cathedral City lawn the festival is named after. The festival schedule calls that sunrise launch "the festival's traditional kickoff and first launch of the weekend." It runs 6:00 to 8:00 a.m., weather permitting.
The festival is really two events. The flights happen at dawn in Rancho Mirage. Cathedral City gets the evenings, with the music, the food trucks and balloons lit up on the ground after dark. Each half has its own address, hours and costs, and on a festival weekend, those three details decide how you spend Friday through Sunday.
All three morning launches this year are in Rancho Mirage, at two resort properties. The festival's official schedule, last updated November 3, lists them in order:
The launches are free to watch. You don't need a ticket, and parking is free. The festival's FAQ says the same thing, and the schedule repeats it under Sunday.
The Rancho Mirage launches go back several years. The city's announcement for the 2023 festival put the sunrise launches at Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage and The Westin. The Desert Sun's 2024 preview listed the same two properties. If you live in Cathedral City and have never seen a full flight, the launches were never on the lawn downtown.
You can also go up yourself. A full morning flight costs $350 per person and takes a 10% refundable deposit.
The evening half takes place at the Cathedral City Festival Lawn & Amphitheater, 68700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero. This is where you'll find tethered rides, glows, the drone show and the concerts. The two nights cost very different amounts.
| Friday, November 20 | Saturday, November 21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Grounds open | 5:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. |
| Admission | Free, no ticket required | $12 festival-only, $35 with concert, $55 preferred seating |
| Music | U2 tribute concert, 6:00 p.m. | Just A Girl, a No Doubt tribute, 3:30 p.m.; DJ A-One, 5:00 p.m.; Robin Thicke, 6:30 p.m. |
| Balloons | Mini balloon glow, 7:30 p.m. | Official Balloon Glow, 7:45 p.m. |
| Drone show | Grizzly Entertainment, 7:45 p.m. | Grizzly Entertainment, with the glow at 7:45 p.m. |
Friday is the free night. You get the games, rides, artisan vendors, craft food and sessions led by balloon pilots, all without a ticket. Saturday is the bigger night, and every price on the festival's ticket page already includes fees:
Two more details from the ticket page apply today. Prices went up for festival week on November 18 and will be higher at the gate. Children 8 and under get in free with a ticketed adult. Tethered rides on the Festival Lawn cost $35 this week, up from $30 presale.
Both nights, parking is free on the first two levels of the garage next to the lawn, with more parking across Highway 111 and crosswalks to the grounds. Outside food and drinks aren't allowed on the grounds Friday or Saturday. Food trucks and craft food and drink vendors will be there both days.
The Westin hosts the Saturday and Sunday launches, and it also has its own nighttime lineup. On Friday at 7:00 p.m., Grooves at the Westin puts on a balloon glow concert with DW3 and BPM, which is Brian Bromberg, Paul Brown and Michael Paulo, with special guest Gregg Karukas. It needs its own ticket and isn't included in festival admission.
After-parties follow both nights. On Friday, DJ Erineil plays Pinz & Pints from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. On Saturday, Marc Antonelli plays the Fireside Lounge from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Food and drinks are available for purchase at both. If you plan to make the 6:00 a.m. arrival on Saturday or Sunday, the late events at the Westin and the early launch are steps apart on the same property.
Robin Thicke was supposed to headline last year, too. On November 20, 2025, KESQ reported that organizers had canceled his concert, all of Friday's programming including the Agua Caliente sunrise launch and the mini glow, and Saturday's morning launch at The Westin. According to KESQ, Palm Springs International Airport had issued Instrument Flight Rules conditions, meaning low cloud ceilings and reduced visibility had dropped below safe visual flying minimums, with rain forecast through Saturday morning. That left Sunday's Westin launch as the only morning flight of the 2025 festival.
The 2024 festival had weather trouble of its own. KESQ reported that high winds called off the final competition flight at The Westin that Sunday morning.
KESQ's June preview confirmed that Thicke would take the stage on November 21 this year, "one year after his scheduled performance was canceled." This year's festival also puts the weather terms in writing. The schedule says all balloon activity is weather permitting. The ticket page says Saturday sales are final, the lineup can change, and the event goes on rain or shine.
Put those together, and the most weather-dependent parts of the weekend are the free dawn launches in Rancho Mirage. The parts most likely to go ahead are the ticketed evening shows in Cathedral City. If you only have one morning, pick the launch with a backup day behind it. Saturday at The Westin still leaves you Sunday at the same driving range.
Cathedral City residents can get a free Robin Thicke ticket, but only until 5 p.m. today, Thursday, November 19. Agua Caliente Casinos is giving out 500 vouchers for Saturday General Admission, normally $35, at the ACE Club inside Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City, 68960 E. Palm Canyon Drive. Here's what the ticket page requires:
The voucher isn't a ticket. You scan its QR code, choose the Saturday General Admission Robin Thicke concert, and enter the promo code at checkout, all by the same 5 p.m. Thursday deadline.
Here's one way to fit both halves of the festival into three days, using only what's on this year's schedule:
At The Read Group, we follow weekends like this because they're part of what it means to own a home in the Coachella Valley, whether that's a condo minutes from the Festival Lawn or a place near the Rancho Mirage fairways where the balloons go up. If this weekend has you wondering what your Cathedral City home is worth, Read Group Real Estate can put together a free valuation with the same local detail.
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Whether you are new to the desert market, contemplating selling your home, or are a savvy investor, The Read Group has the know-how, resources, and determination to get the job done successfully for you, Work with Read Group Real Estate now!