On the weekend of Sept. 15 and Sept. 16, St. Louis held the annual Great Forest Park Balloon Race. On Friday, Sept. 15, there was the Balloon Glow. This is where all the balloons would inflate and as it gets start to get darker they would glow. By 7:00 all the balloons were up and the rope was dropped and people were then allowed to walk in between the balloons. Every two minutes an airhorn would sound and all the Balloons would ignite their flame and they would all glow at the same time. There were many different activities such as dancing with the DJ, getting food at the food trucks, and a firework show at the end of the night. On Saturday, Sept. 16, was the Balloon Race. The field open at 1:00 but the launch wasn’t until 4:45 and the race went all the way to 6:00. Priya Gangasingh, senior, recalls going to the ballon glow every year with her brothers when they were younger.
“Before the end of the night with the fireworks, there’s just an hour where you get to walk around the balloons,” Gangasingh said. “It feels surreal [when] all the balloons are surrounding you.”
![Seeds of Happiness:
Mark Borella is a 1984 Kirkwood alum who owns and operates the Seeds of Happiness studio.
"A friend of mine's son was sick, and we knew he wasn't going to make it. I made a handful of these little smiles, [and gave it to the family.] I said maybe you can hold on to [them] until you get your smile back. [The family] said 'it would be very selfish if I didn't tell you to do this for other people.'"
Find more at seedsofhappiness.com](https://www.thekirkwoodcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/gardenseeds-1200x800.jpg)
