We hear about some of the Lottery's newest games!
By Kate Northrop
READINGTON, N.J. — From an oversized cornhole toss to floating alien spaceships to limitless food and drink, the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning was the place to be on the weekend starting Fri., July 29.
This past weekend, Lottery Post visited the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning to not only see what the hot air hype was about, but to find out what's brewing at the Lottery now that the $1.3 billion Mega Millions craze has finally settled.
There was much to see and do at the largest ballooning festival in the country, from strolling down the airport runway browsing the variety of curious booths to doing the most obvious — taking a balloon ride (something we got to experience to a certain degree).
There was even a world record-holding human cannonball who bestowed some free lottery tickets upon those who stopped by to watch the amazing spectacle.
WATCH: Lottery Post visits the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning
We also stopped by the New Jersey Lottery VIP section to learn more about what's going on at Lottery headquarters. New Jerseyans might recognize ambassador and personality Lauren Berman, who filled us in on how the Lottery is listening to players by releasing a particular scratch-off game with a fresh new take.
At the end of a warm, action-packed, and fun-filled day, it came down to the main event — the ascension of the hot air balloons — what one could describe as a magical experience.
There's something about watching the gigantic inflatables quietly ascending into the sky against the sound of a cheering crowd thousands strong while Owl City's "Hot Air Balloon" begins whimsically playing in the background. At an event like this, it's impossible to find yourself in a bad mood.
To catch a mere glimpse of what one single day at the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning looks like, visit the official Lottery Post YouTube channel. Tell us in the comments below the video what you thought looked the most exciting, as well as what you'd like us to ask the Lottery in future interviews.
sounds like it was a fun filled day.
Met the then KY Director and Chip Polston @ the Wheel of Fortune shindig with Miss Vanna White. They are all very nice like I'm sure your NJ folks are...just normal folks with great jobs!
Always love your interviews Kate. Seeing you attempt to shoot a basketball is even better than the cannonball guy. Your videos are always great.
Thanks 4 sharing, looks like a full rich day
Nice video Kate and looks like you had some great fun!
Nice job showing how much fun the Festival really was especially watching the human cannonball. And IMO Kate's interviews are much better than most we see on network TV.
You're a natural, Kate. No kidding. You belong on Newsmax or sitting next to Peter Doocy in the White House Press Briefing Room. I would not be a bit surprised to see you in that capacity someday. Great job.
Kate wouldn't be the first one 'discovered' on a whim. Talent scouts out there all the time, right place/right time and you'd be all set. Good point rdgrnr.
Wow, that looks like a lot of fun...
Here is the easy link I suppose...for all you phone addicted people..
Hi everyone, I just wanted to pipe in and say that your kind words and positivity have not gone unnoticed. Even just one nice comment is enough to entirely make my day, so I'm honestly blown away every time I see such wonderful notes and messages about the content we put together. On top of it being a fun event, this was an awesome first leap into new territory, and your feedback is what keeps me thinking about how we can improve and what we should cover next.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for watching our videos! We have some neat things coming down the pipeline.