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A balloon-themed festival will debut at Hong Kong’s premier arts hub to celebrate Christmas, with the event featuring giant inflatable characters and other attractions as part of the city’s latest efforts to capitalise on the intellectual property (IP) economy. The festival’s Merry Balloon Park will debut at the West Kowloon Cultural District from December 6 and runs until January 4 next year. The park is part of the wider Merry Balloon Hong Kong event, with other highlights including a balloon parade on December 28. To help get people into the spirit, organisers also plan to use augmented reality technology at local hotspots to promote the event. Famous IPs making an appearance include popular toy character Lulu the Piggy, American chocolate brand M&M and Hong Kong’s Mister Softee ice cream van, according to the festival’s official Instagram account. The inflatable park, which will run daily for nearly a month, will consist of two main areas. One zone will showcase large inflatable attractions, including a seven-metre-tall (23-foot-tall) slide and a 40-metre-long bouncy track. The second area, known as the “Snap and Play Zone”, is anchored by a seven-metre-tall inflatable Christmas tree. It is also surrounded by a maze and offers engaging installations featuring popular IP characters for photo opportunities. The event offers 90-minute passes, which include entering the bouncy zone for a designated 40-minute session, priced at HK$168 (US$21.6) for normal days and HK$198 for special days. The tickets for the temporary installation on the Great Lawn at the Art Park went on sale via Klook on Monday, according to organiser Makeitloud. Junior session packages are available for children under 120cm (3.94 feet) tall, who must be accompanied by an adult. The junior sessions, which run daily from 9.30am to 11am and from 11.10am to 12.40pm, are priced at HK$299 for normal days and HK$355 for special days for one adult and one child. Customers can also choose the type of session, with daytime sessions intended for families, while nighttime ones feature music and are aimed at people aged 16 or above. The balloon festival comes hot on the heels of the Water Parade, which ended on Saturday. The parade in Victoria Harbour involved giant inflatables of popular IP characters such as designer Lung Ka-sing’s Labubu, McDonald’s Grimace and titular Japanese manga character Doraemon. Factoring in the week-long bazaar at Tamar Park, the entire parade attracted tens of thousands of spectators. In September, another balloon-themed festival triggered controversy after the organiser promised customers hot-air balloon rides but failed to deliver due to a lack of a licence.
