Tethered hot-air balloon rides are coming to the Livingston Oval on Sunday, Oct. 11, as part of the Kiwanis Club of Livingston's second annual Oktoberfest & Family Fun Day.
The balloon attraction is new for 2026. It was originally scheduled for the Livingston Police Department's Community Block Party on Saturday, Sept. 26, but bad weather forced that event's cancellation, the West Essex Tribune reported. The Kiwanis Oktoberfest gives the balloon a second chance to fly.
The Livingston Police Department said in a Facebook post that balloon rides will run from 3 to 5 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and go on sale on-site starting at 11 a.m. The rides are weather- and wind-dependent.
The Block Party's balloon rides had been set up as a fundraiser for Shiv's Third Eye, a charity honoring late Livingston resident Shiv Kulkarni, according to the township's event listing. It was not clear from available sources whether the Oktoberfest balloon proceeds will go to the same cause.
Admission is $5.
Last year's inaugural Oktoberfest drew several thousand people over the course of the day, according to the West Essex Tribune. Club president Russell Ferrara told TAPinto Livingston in July that the club donated $12,000 to the West Essex YMCA, raised in part through the 2025 Oktoberfest and Golf Classic. That gift is part of a $50,000 commitment toward the new YMCA facility in Livingston.
"The Kiwanis Club of Livingston has a long history of supporting the Y, and we are proud to continue that tradition," Ferrara said in July, when the donation was announced.
The Kiwanis Club's Facebook page has event updates.
What to know
- What: Kiwanis Club of Livingston Oktoberfest & Family Fun Day
- When: Sunday, Oct. 11, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Where: Livingston Oval, Robert H. Harp Drive
- Admission: $5
- Balloon rides: 3 to 5 p.m., $10 tickets (on sale on-site at 11 a.m., weather permitting)
