Be it bloody Mary pub crawls or AYCE fish fry club hauls, this 34th edition of the Hudson Hot Air Affair has some new things to put wind in your sails, through the various avenues of Eat, Shop and Play, only starting with the downtown. Balloons and irons up! At least one such burner, numerically, for each year of the fest’s existence.

They are one of the most eclectic and varied, and just plain big types of eats and drinks in combo, that you can indulge in. So many hot and cold meat types sliced and in bulk, veggies green and otherwise, cheeses of all kinds and colors as this is Wisconsin, plenty of pickles and olives alike, and seasonings of various sorts all in a row, or should we say stacked into the top of a glass, jar, jug or even mug — again so many choices.
To the point that to see and taste all of what’s out there, all in one city, but also incorporating neighboring locales, you need to go on a pub crawl. And wash it down with fish fries galore, and balloon-themed food makings and samplings.
So enter the Hudson Hot Air Affair, billed as the largest winter ballooning event of its kind, warming up your hackles so you can take-in all of the even-outdoors featured activities — for its 34th year — it will include in the first weekend of February.
All new this year at the Hot Air Affair is the first-ever Bloody Mary Crawl featuring ten participating Eat/Shop/Play eating and drinking destinations over weekend of Feb. 3-5. Patrons get special prices on Bloody Marys all weekend, plus non-alcoholic and zero-alcohol Bloody Mary Mocktails available, as well. Vote for your favorite and have a chance to win a prize of Tonka Vodka and Miss Mary’s Bloody Mary Mix.
These are the close-to-a-dozen venues where you can eat and shop and play, and maybe win, too, (and a bit on their claim-to-fame decore and atmosphere):
— Bennett’s Chop and Rail House, new and lively and as their name implies featuring steak-and-beyond entrees.
— Black Rooster Bistro, across the street from Bennett’s and also new but carrying on a long tradition at the stone-decked-out location.
— Dick’s Bar and Grill, with four separate and distinct rooms and perhaps the longest tenure of a tavern in Wisconsin and yes the upper Midwest.
— Grand Fete, bunches to say and for that see below.
— Jonesy’s Local Bar and Grill, with all the games of all types you could want to play and more.
— Post American Eatery, that has a cool wood-hewn design in its backdrop of a longtime Post Office.
— Lucky Guys Distilling, bringing home the theme of their great big metal brewing vats for visual appeal.
— Plaza Bowling Center/Plaza Lounge, with an upbeat atmosphere and the karaoke to match.
— The Empourium, under new ownership and great big and open spaces after you walk inside.
— Ziggy’s Live Music, Bar and Restaurant, with so much of the above on two levels and anything else you could want.
In western Wisconsin, you can have an old-fashioned wallop of walleye and other fillets during the Friday fish fries, but that’s only where their seafood starts. These restaurants are situated right downtown and thus could be a perfect top off for the torchlight parade and fireworks over the St. Croix River set for all Friday evening: Dick’s Bar and Grill on Walnut Street, and Post American Eatery on Locust Street. You can add Jonesy’s Local at Plaza 94 to that fish fry list, and still be close in to the launch site, as this fish extravaganza has options all weekend long. While typically known for virtually-every-night music, Ziggy’s on the south end of the downtown also brings the fish, prior to their music on Friday night.
Other venues with such Friday fish offerings are Big Guy’s BBQ Roadhouse as you might guess is between North Hudson and Houlton, and also across the area are Carbone’s Pizza/Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt, Cheap Andy’s Saloon in Hammond, Nutty Squirrel Saloon in River Falls, and the Empoureum at Exit 4 in the town of Hudson.
Beyond fish and bloodys, experience the Magic of Food at Grand Fete: on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with $3 Bloody Mary Mocktails and the coolest cookoff you can image in the form of a garnish contest, 10-11 a.m. with Hot Air Affair balloon cookie decorating for ages 5-11 and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for ages 12 to adult (both free), then from 12:30-3:30 p.m. an Angry Tomato Salsa sampling with local owner Dana Steenburg. Also on Sunday, 1-3 p.m. for balsamic truffle class for adults (free).