Get ready to be swept up, up and away when the annual Hunter Valley Balloon Fiesta returns next weekend.
The festival will be held on October 22 and 23 and promises to bring more than 20 pilots from across the nation to launch their hot air balloons in the Hunter Valley in a spectacular display of colour.
Balloon Aloft general manager David Bain said that the event offers a chance for the community to experience the spectacle right on their doorstep.
"We'd love everyone to come join us at sunrise to watch the launch, or book a ticket and fly with more than 20 balloons," Mr Bain said.
"It's a real adventure."
The balloon fiesta is one of many big events coming up in the Hunter Valley during last two weeks of October.
The first Pokolbin Pride festival – a celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people – will run from October 20 to 24.
Free events include an LGBTI art exhibition at Tamburlaine and markets at Draytons Family Wines.
On the other end of town, the Kurri Kurri Community Festival will be held on October 22 in Rotary Park with live entertainment, rides, stalls, a jumping castle and face painting.
Movies in the Park will also return to the festival with a screening of 'Zootopia' that night.
The following Saturday (October 29), the last-ever Jazz in the Vines will take place at Tyrrell's Vineyards.
This year's headlining acts include Leo Sayer, James Morrison, Mental as Anything, Lisa Hunt and Emma Pask.
The next day, head down to Cessnock to watch the third annual Australian Postie Bike Grand Prix.
This postie bike race will take place on a circuit through the Cessnock TAFE grounds and surrounding streets, and is expected to draw a crowd of at least 5000 people.
