Who would have thought hot air balloons could make up a pretty solid 10-day festival? We're as surprised as you are, but taking a look at the schedule for Quebec's hot air balloon festival, known as International de montgolfières de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, we're actually legit excited.

Running from August 9th to 17th in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (map) the festival is like a gigantic carnival, where hot air balloons are the main attraction, aside from the solid lineup of evening musical acts.

Over 125 hot air balloons will be present (the largest gathering in Canada) in 8 different shapes and hailing from 7 different nations. I know hot air balloons sound unimpressive, but wait for the daily balloon show and I'm sure you'll change your mind. Hordes of balloons colour the sky for a pretty sweet spectacle.

If balloons ain't your thing, then the festivals lineup of shows may just get you to attend. Despite it seeming family friendly and lame, the festival actually has decently high-profile performers, like Kid Cudi, Hedley, Half Moon Run, and many more. See the full lineup here.

Other attractions include an on-site SAQ bistro and Budweiser Terrasse (for day-drankage), bouncy castle and other balloon-based games, carnival rides, and classic carni-food like cotton candy, hot dogs, and (of course) poutine.

I was just as hesitant to check out the hot air balloon festival as you may be now, until I attended last year's event. While the balloon show didn't happen due to weather (watch out for that) the festival-grounds and musical acts (Carly Rae Jepsen...) more than made up for it.

To get all the info, check out the FB page and official website.

Will you be going?

For more on all things Montreal, follow Michael on Twitter @MDAlimonte