From August 11 to 19, 2012, come and experience the great celebration of Hot Air Balloons in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu!
It all started in 1984 when the Chamber of Commerce, the Office du Tourisme and the Conseil Economique du Haut-Richelieu were looking for a way to promote tourism and develop the region’s economy during the summer season.
This is when Bob Burch and Dave McLeod, two Hot Air Balloon enthusiasts living in Montreal, had the idea to propose a Hot Air Balloon festival. Both had noticed that the region’s geographic situation and climate conditions made it an exceptional area with ideal conditions for balloonists to enjoy their sport.
In 1984, the first edition of the Festival de montgolfières du Haut-Richelieu was a success. During the four-day festivities from August 20 to 26, 20 balloons and 60,000 visitors officially launched this great balloon gathering.
The next year, in 1985, the Festival acquired a permanent structure. The event was there to last! In 1987, the Municipal Council of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu officially proclaimed their city “Hot Air Balloon Capital”. Throughout the years, the Festival welcomed many balloon competitions, including the North American Championship, several Canadian championships, and the 10th Hot Air Balloon World Championships, which was presented in Canada for the first time in 1991. The world’s 100 best balloonists came from 30 countries to take part in this international event.
In 1992, the event changed its name to the Festival de montgolfières de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The Festival Corporation was set up and a brand new team was brought in. 
It is that year that the Festival also became a more family-oriented event. In 1993, the Festival started presenting major shows every evening on a main stage. That same year, the Festival’s Honorary Chairman was Timothy C. Forbes, President of American Heritage Publishing, President and Chief Operating Officer of financial magazine Forbes, and a great balloon enthusiast. Mr. Forbes was on site for the opening ceremonies of that 10th edition of the Festival.
In 1998, the Festival welcomed its two millionth visitor! That same year, the first emblem balloon of the Festival was born. The creation of internationally renowned poster artist Vittorio, the winged blue balloon with the wide smile was to become the Festival’s brand image throughout the world.
In 2001, the Festival celebrated its 18th anniversary. By then, the international notoriety of the Festival was strongly established. The blue Festival balloon had been seen in many countries, attracting a host of foreign balloonists to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. To better reflect this international dimension, the Festival changed its name again, this time to the International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
In 2004, the International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu adopted a new image, its use of warm colours a salute to the “fire blowing” balloons. The sun, the moon and the stars were also brought together to form a joyous and festive logo. In 2005, eight balloons inspired by the forms and colours of this new logo newly graced the sky of the Festival.
In 2008, the International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu celebrated 25 years of fun and colours. The next year, in 2009, the event would have its very best edition ever, with a record-breaking 400,000 visitors. In addition, a wave of exceptional good weather was to allow that year’s 115 participating balloons to cover the sky of the Haut-Richelieu 13 times, with 9 consecutive flights, another record,
It is also in 2009 that the public discovered the first ever Planète Ballon. With 500,000 square feet, this is the world’s largest inflatable theme park. A brand new interactive balloon interpretation center was also inaugurated that year.
In March 2010, the International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu won the first prize in its category in the 25th edition of the Grands Prix du tourisme de la Montérégie, a prestigious annual award recognizing excellence and innovation in the tourism industry.
In May 2010 at the Palais des Congrès, the International Balloon Festival of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu won the national gold prize of the Grands Prix du tourisme québécois in the "Festivals and tourist events" category. Proud of this national recognition price, the International Balloon Festival team insists to thank all the associates, volunteers, partners and its faithful public who contribute to the success of the greatest family event in Canada.
Back in 1984, a brilliant idea gave birth to what is today the largest gathering of Hot Air Balloons in Canada. Since then, each year in August, the sky over Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu blooms with colourful balloons, for the greatest pleasure of residents and attracting people from all over the world.
In 2010, there have been more than 400,000 visitors who have crossed the turnstiles at the International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, presented by the Laurentian Bank in collaboration with Loto-Quebec. As for the rides and entertainment, the success of new 2010 activities like The Beast, the Fluorescent Dome and the Balloon Experience, reinforced the International Balloon Festival's reputation as the greatest family event in Canada.The energy coming from Balloon Planet : The Conquest, the world's largest inflatable theme park, displays the ideology and ambition of the organization to adapt the magic of the Balloon flights onto the site of its event, day and night.
In 2011, The International Balloon Festival enjoyed the greatest year in its history, smashing old attendance records. Nearly 500,000 visitors passed the festival turnstiles from August 13th to 21st for the 28th edition; 487,869 to be exact. Favourable weather for the flights allowed the 125 Balloon hot-air balloons, the largest gathering in Canada, to colour the sky of Haut-Richelieu 12 times during the festival.
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Saturday, August 13, was the busiest day of the festival, as a record crowd of more than 90,000 festival goers overran the site to enjoy a memorable opening evening with performances by American singer Ke$ha and the band LMFAO. The shows presented on the Loto-Quebec stage offered amazing evenings with, among others, famous American rapper Pitbull, the international reggae and dancehall star Sean Paul, Remady, Mohombi and Flo Rida, as well as several great names from the Quebec music and arts scene, like Roch Voisine, Marie-May, Eric Lapointe and Maxime Landry.