Highlights of this weekend’s Great Mississippi River Balloon Race included the race itself — which featured the first-ever win by a Natchez pilot — and a festival packed with music, rides, food and hundreds of people.

&uot;The weather conditions were near perfect for most of the race, … and the crowd was good for the whole event, including at the festival site itself,&uot; said Sally Durkin, the race’s crew coordinator.

In all, more than 60 balloons from throughout the United States took part in the 15th annual race.

And Stephen Guido became the first Natchez pilot ever to win the race.

Although all the race’s other flights took place, low cloud cover early Sunday morning forced race coordinators to cancel that morning’s flight.

&uot;But all in all, it was a beautiful weekend,&uot; said Candi Davis, scoring officer for the race. &uot;We were well pleased.&uot;

On Sunday afternoon, about 20 of the balloons took off at once for a flight across the river. &uot;The mass ascension is usually a good crowd-pleaser,&uot;&160;Durkin said.

The weekend started with a balloon glow Friday night, with balloons on the Vidalia riverfront, at the Ramada Hilltop and on the grounds of Rosalie lighting up the night sky.

But there was more to the weekend than balloons.

Hundreds attended the balloon race’s festival on the grounds of the antebellum house Rosalie this weekend.

The event featured a variety of live music from such bands as Eddie Money, Vince Vance and the Valiants and Mark Lindsay, the former lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders. Patrick Henry and the Liberation Band performed at Saturday’s night street dance.

Two balloons especially appealing to children — Arky, a Noah’s Ark-shaped balloon, as well as a panda balloon — were featured at the festival. Booths offered food, drinks, merchandise and games, and a separate area by Phoenix Carousel Co. featured rides and concession stands for children.