Up, up, and away!
The Charleston Hot Air Balloon Festival and Polo Match was a blast. My favorite part was getting up close to the Hot Air Balloons. The event was perfect for people of all ages!
I had the opportunity to partner with The Victory Cup. In exchange for advertising this event, I got to attend and document my experience. The Victory Cup gave me 4 tickets for their VIP section to raffle off to my followers! I loved having the opportunity to gift this experience to my followers and meet them in real life!
So, what is The Victory Cup? The Victory Cups is literally considered “America’s Polo Match”. It is a National Polo Tournament with dozens of vendors. It has grown to be one of the largest equestrian events in the US. It is an all day affair full of polo, live music, fashion, Hot Air Balloons, and food & drinks.
My Experience
Our day started off bright and early, and by early I mean 8am. The balloons are weather permitting and only run in the early morning and early evening. The Hot Air Balloons were tethered and rides were available for purchase. They also had helicopter rides. We did not ride in the balloons, but I got to take some pretty awesome photos.
The event had an array of vendors! After we took photos, we walked around to browse. My guests and I had VIP tickets in the Golden Mallet PLUS Rosé All Day section. Our area didn’t open util 11am, so we had some time to kill.
During this time, something very traumatic happened to me. You guys, you can’t make this shit up. I was sitting at a table drink water, when all of a sudden it felt like my ankles were being bitten. I looked down, and my booties were COVERED in red ants! The ants were crawling down my ankles and inside my boots. I had to take them off, and people rushed over to help. It was pretty embarrassing, lol. The life I live.
After that incident, they let us into the VIP area early. It was a gorgeous day! Our area offered complimentary Rosé all day (or until it runs out), and lunch. Our lunch was really good and included burgers, hot dogs, oysters, and a lobster boil. I would be lying if I said I didn’t indulge in the Rosé.
I definitely want to be transparent and say getting VIP passes is honestly the most affordable way to go if you want food and drinks. The food and drinks that were sold by vendors were pretty pricey. You had to purchase tickets and each ticket is equivalent to $3. So, if you order fries that cost 3 tickets you’re really paying $6 (I’m a math wizard). I feel like people who brought kids definitely spent a pretty penny (lol why am I talking like that?).
The Golden Mallet section was a lot of fun! I networked and met so many people in my age group. I also got to hangout with my girls Shelley and Elyssa, who won my giveaway!
I watched some polo which was interesting. I never realized how competitive it was! It is pretty cool.
This was an event of a lifetime and I hope I have the privilege of going back next year!
To find a match near you, click here!
xx Courtney