A car show was a part of the Canton Balloon Fest on Saturday.

Featuring hot air balloons, music and kid activities, hundreds came out to the Canton Texas Visitor Bureau’s 10th annual Balloon Fest this past weekend to not only have fun but their attendance also supported the Children’s Miracle Network.

Four-year-old Natalie said Saturday she had so much fun and her favorite part was playing on the slides and trampoline.

“I like the setup with the kids’ area and the food vendors and all the other vendors selling their own personal items,” Carissa Woods, Natalie’s mom, said. “It’s a really nice community out here.”

The Canton Balloon Fest started at the Tailwind Airpark and grew over the years, Bob Reese, associate broker at Re/Max, said. The city of Canton wanted to make it a big community event and began hosting it at the First Monday grounds.

The event, which was held this past Friday and Saturday, now takes place over a span of two days and has balloon rides, musical performances, a car show, a 5K glow run, kid fun zones and local vendors.

A big highlight of the event is getting to ride on a hot air balloon and seeing them light up at night, Reese said.

Attendees had the opportunity to ride up to 50 feet in a tethered hot air balloon.

After balloon rides, all of the balloons were set up for a glow, where balloon operators turn on their burners to make the entire balloon light up in the dark.

Reese said the glow puts on a really amazing show for people, and the balloons light up altogether or randomly.

Another really interesting thing done each morning of the event and the Thursday before are the balloon competitions, he said.

Reese added the goal is to see who can drop a bag of flour onto a big X on the ground first. This is a challenge because there’s no way to steer a hot air balloon except by going up and down to find wind shifts.

The title sponsor of the event is Real Estate Maximums, a real estate company that is affiliated with the Children’s Miracle Network, Reese said.

“The board for the Balloon Fest knew that RE/MAX has an affiliation with Children’s Miracle Network, and they thought, ‘hey, what better thing, since it’s a kid and family activity, to have the proceeds go towards Children’s Hospital,’” Reese said.

Children’s Health in Dallas is the local hospital that this event will benefit, Kendall Rowden, a development officer at Children’s Health, said. The hospital has been a part of this event a few years back.

Being able to support the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals is very important, Reese said. He and his wife have 21 grandchildren, some of which have had to go to the Children’s Hospital in Dallas.

Each year Children’s Health is able to provide services to 300,000 kids across the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, Rowden said. Investing in the community and being able to give back to the kids is essential.

“By investing in pediatric health, we’re investing in our future, and it’s making a difference,” she said.

Children’s Health is a nonprofit hospital, making philanthropy a large part of who they are, Rowden said. Donations allow them to provide the things like art therapy and therapy dogs.