Bay Harbor, Michigan · A Collection of Photographs

Balloons over Bay Harbor

At Alexander Kippe’s Bay Harbor location on Main Street.

Two hot air balloons drifting low over the Village of Bay Harbor at sunrise, the marina and Little Traverse Bay stretching into morning mist — Balloons over Bay Harbor · Alexander Kippe

Four seasons of the festival, photographed from the grass, from the rooftops of Main Street, and from inside the basket.

The balloons come over the Village at first light and again at dusk, and for a few mornings each September the whole shoreline belongs to them. These are the frames worth keeping — the launch on the green, the Village from a few hundred feet up, the water Bay Harbor sits on, and the night glow that ends it.

Photographs

30 frames

Seasons

2021 – 2025

Made by

Alexander Kippe

Location

4250 Main Street
Bay Harbor, MI 49770

1 of 6

The Launch

Before anything leaves the ground there is fabric on wet grass, cold air, and the first long pull on the burner.

A red, orange and yellow balloon envelope filling on the grass while a second balloon stands inflated behind it and ground crew hold the crown lines

A wicker balloon basket carrying two passengers lifts past the marina, burner lit, spectators below raising their arms

Close view of a balloon's twin burners firing a tall blue and yellow flame against a deep blue sky

Looking up inside a star-spangled balloon envelope as the burner flame curls against the fabric

Detail of a balloon's blue anodised burner block, blast valves and pilot light hardware above a green field

2 of 6

Over the Village

From a few hundred feet the Village reads as one composition — Main Street, the marina, and Little Traverse Bay behind it all.

A red, black and yellow checkered hot air balloon hanging just above the Bay Harbor marina and the Main Street buildings in golden early light

A red, yellow and black striped balloon descending directly over the marina docks and moored yachts

Aerial view along the rooftops of Bay Harbor's Main Street at sunrise, round dormer windows catching the light, the Inn at the far end

Aerial of the Village of Bay Harbor rooftops with Little Traverse Bay and the Inn beyond, under a pale gold dawn sky

Aerial looking straight down the length of Main Street in Bay Harbor, buildings on both sides, the marina and Lake Michigan at the end of the view

Aerial along the Bay Harbor shoreline into a low sun, two hot air balloons small in the distance above the water

3 of 6

The Bay Below

Some of the best frames from a balloon have no balloon in them at all.

Aerial of the wooded Little Traverse Bay shoreline curving toward town, pale beach and clear blue water

Aerial of the Bay Harbor marina basin at dawn, sailboats and yachts on mirror-calm water with homes and green slopes beyond

Aerial along the Bay Harbor peninsula showing the marina, waterfront homes and the stone breakwater reaching into Lake Michigan

Aerial of a curving stone breakwater enclosing turquoise shallows beside a small wooded point

Aerial of the marina docks and moored boats under a low misty sun

Aerial of a golf course fairway and green with the soft round shadow of a hot air balloon falling across the grass

Abstract view down from a balloon basket of the balloon's own reflection rippling across turquoise water

Abstract aerial of clear turquoise shallows over pale limestone shoals, the rock fractured into a fine grid of seams

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From the Basket

A 360° camera on a pole over the envelope, flattened back into a single frame. This is what the ride actually feels like.

Wide 360-degree view from a balloon basket: the blue star-spangled envelope overhead, passengers below, and the Bay Harbor marina wrapping the horizon

A 360-degree little-planet photograph from the balloon basket, the marina and village curled into a sphere below, sun bursting past the envelope

A 360-degree little-planet photograph of a passenger in the balloon basket with the Bay Harbor marina curved into a circle beneath and an orange balloon alongside

A 360-degree little-planet photograph from the basket with a second orange and yellow balloon flying alongside above the marina

A 360-degree little-planet photograph from the balloon basket looking out along the curved horizon over Bay Harbor

5 of 6

The Gallery on Main Street

The festival passes directly over the gallery doors. Some years it stops there.

The gallery storefront on Main Street in Bay Harbor with a hot air balloon basket resting at the corner beside the Main Street and Front Street signs

A round dormer window on a Bay Harbor building filled with the orange and yellow reflection of a passing hot air balloon

6 of 6

The Night Glow

At dusk the balloons stay tethered and the burners turn them into lanterns. It is the part of the weekend nobody leaves early for.

Three hot air balloons glowing from within at blue hour on the lawn beside the Bay Harbor marina, a crowd watching and boats lit along the docks

A red, white and blue star-patterned hot air balloon aloft over a crowd gathered on the Bay Harbor lawn at sunset, seen from a terrace above Main Street

Wide view of the Bay Harbor Main Street buildings and the lawn full of spectators with a star-patterned balloon aloft over the marina in bright evening sun

Coming to the 2026 festival?

The Fourth Annual Balloons over Bay Harbor runs Friday and Saturday, September 11 and 12, 2026. Our Main Street doors stay open late both evenings.

RSVP for 2026 The Bay Harbor Collection

Every photograph on this page is available as a museum-grade aluminum print. Ask us about any frame you see here — (231) 939-0278 or info@alexanderkippe.com.