The launches run from 7 to 8 a.m. At the Mack Dick Pavilion. Gates open at 6 a.m. Friday. Admission costs $8 per person, and children under 12 get in free.
Sunday's launch doubles as a food drive for the High Plains Food Bank. Visitors can bring canned goods or other nonperishable items to the front gate, and organizers said day-use admission is free that day.
Amarillo gets a show too. Balloons also launch from John Stiff Park on Sunday from 7 to 8 a.m., and the parking lots open at 5 a.m. That puts both Sunday launches in the same hour, so you will have to pick one.
Sunday is the easier choice on the wallet, and the John Stiff Park event is free. The Amarillo event runs well past the launch, with food trucks, games and vendors starting at 4:30 p.m. Trick-or-treating from balloons begins at 6 p.m., and a balloon glow follows at 7 p.m.
Last year's donation event provided 22,889 meals to local residents in need, organizers said.