Balloon Glow turns away ticket holders due to overcrowding

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 29, 2026

EVERETT — Overcrowding forced organizers for a Snohomish Kla Ha Ya Days event on Saturday to turn ticketholders away after parking ran out, traffic backed up and attendance numbers grew to over 4,000.

Kla Ha Ya Days is an annual series of events held in Snohomish. On Saturday, Kla Ha Ya Days Balloon Glow hosted two musical acts and a nighttime hot air balloon display at Harvey Airfield just south of the city.

Snohomish Block Party, a volunteer-run nonprofit, hosted the event.

“This year, more than 4,400 paid tickets were sold, with a significant number of those being purchased during the final two days leading up to the event and at the gate,” said Laura Page, Snohomish Block Party program director, in a Tuesday email. “Children 17 and under attend free and do not require a ticket, so a very high number of kids at this year’s event were not reflected in our ticket counts.”

Block Party based the site plan and attendance projections on the previous year’s event, Page said. About 2,500 people attended last year, she said.

The organization set the event’s online ticket limit higher than the expected attendance to monitor sales, evaluate attendance and make adjustments in the weeks beforehand, Page said. The adjustments could have included expanding the footprint, adding additional portable restrooms, increasing seating areas, adjusting food truck spacing and more, she said.

“We never anticipated attendance approaching the cap we had established within 48 hours of the event nor all of the tickets purchased at the gate,” Page said. “Our team was already deep into on-site setup and unable to adjust the plan.”

Other events in town and Highway 9 construction also contributed to the standstill traffic, she said. Parking ran out faster than expected because the team was inexperienced and misread the parking layout, leaving 200-300 available spaces unused, Page said.

Police closed on-site parking and eventually turned away people with valid tickets, an apology posted to social media on Sunday said.

“The result was a frustrating, unsafe situation for a lot of people,” the apology says. “We know we let you down. We are deeply saddened and disappointed that we let so many people down.”

People who purchased tickets and were denied entry can email info@snohomishblockparty.org to receive a refund.

What they learned

Snohomish County Block Party is hosting another event Aug. 14-15 at Harvey Airfield. Based on community feedback and an event debrief, the event plan includes multiple changes, Page said.

• They lowered the cap to 3,000 attendees with confirmed parking capacity for up to 2,500 vehicles. Children 17 and under will still not require a ticket.
• They reworked the entrance check-in, adding a separate line for VIPs and people with disabilities.
• They expanded the event footprint, reoriented the stage and added more restrooms.
• They are planning for additional security measures, including multiple entry points and emergency exits.
• They may limit on-site ticket sales, so online ticket purchases are encouraged.
• Future events will have a child-ticket tier so all attendees, including kids, are accurately counted.

Those interested in attending Snohomish County Block Party can purchase tickets at snohomishblockpart.org/2026-snohomish-block-party/ with promo code SBP20 for 20% off through Sunday.

Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; Bluesky: @btayokay.bsky.social