KINGSTON — This weekend, 30,000 visitors are expected to enjoy hot-air balloons, music, fireworks, tightrope walking, carnival rides — and even pig racing — at the 30th South County Hot Air Balloon Festival.

“Even if none of the balloons go up, we have Beaver Brown, the Flying Wallendas, and a great festival for everyone to enjoy,” said Jane Hendricks, who watches over the balloons and crew for the fair in Kingston.

A dozen hot air balloons, including the famous red, white and blue balloon from the Re/Max commercials and a purple one from Oklahoma advertising Curves, are flying this weekend, taking thrill-seekers high into the Rhode Island skies.

The balloons will be tethered to the ground at the University of Rhode Island athletic fields, where they will provide a colorful backdrop to a busy festival. For about $15, attendees can go up in a balloon.

Expect long lines, though, for the thrill of being lifted by six-foot flames of burning propane trapped in a 90,000-cubic-foot nylon envelope. The roar of the propane burner is followed by complete silence as the balloon lifts up, held aloft by the buoyancy of the hot air.

“They heat the air just enough to get the balloon off the ground,” said Sean McIntyre, one of the grounds crew. “When they get it to the top, they give it a couple more bursts to keep it up there a while. And then it slowly drifts down as the air cools.”

The balloons are required to fly untethered at 5:30 a.m. today and Sunday, and at 6 p.m. tonight.

“They have to be launched in the early morning or in the hour or two before sunset because the winds need to be conducive to ballooning,” said balloonist Mark Sand. “The thermal action can create a dangerous situation where a thermal [updraft] can bring you up 2,000 to 3,000 feet before you can react.”

Safety also requires that the winds are relatively still. “The wind needs to be under 5 mph for me to fly,” Sand noted. “Every pilot has their own personal maximum, but mine is 5 mph.”

Winds Friday evening were about 10 mph, low enough for tethered flight.

All of the balloons at the festival are the standard teardrop shape. Most of the exotic shapes are teardrops with add-ons, like teacup handles or moose antlers. Those extra appendages add excess weight without significant lift – and capture the wind in unpredictable ways, making them less popular with balloonists.

“Once you’re aloft, it’s totally quiet,” said Sand. “There is no net wind since the balloon moves as fast as the wind, so it is perfectly calm.”

A typical untethered flight lasts about an hour, and costs about $275 per person.

The balloons are just a portion of the event. This year, the Beaver Brown Band kicked off the event Friday night. Throughout today and Sunday, presentations and demonstrations will give fairgoers a chance to explore a 50-booth craft fair, eat food from the 10 vendors, and ride carnival rides.

Perhaps the greatest non-balloon thrill of the weekend is catching one of the seven performances by the Flying Wallendas. The Wallendas are high-wire tightrope performers, now in their eighth generation, and are famous for their multi-level pyramids and for performing without a net.

“My grandfather always said that if you have a net, you will not be as careful as you need to be,” said Tino Wallenda, the current patriarch of the performing family. “Yes, there have been some tragedies, but we are proud to continue that heritage and tradition,”

Three generations of the Flying Wallendas sit on chairs, ride bicycles, walk and thrill audiences as they move along a wire that is drawn tight by two, 4.5-ton wenches.

Of course, not all of the festival’s fun involves flying or tightrope walking.

Andrew Thoman, 11, and Kyle Pierce, 10, are both Tenderfoot Boy Scouts in Charlestown’s Troop 15. They were among the 20 youngsters who will be manning a dunking booth during the event, taunting passersby into paying a dollar for three chances to plunge them into a pool of water. Their troop will be using the funds they raise to help pay fees and buy equipment for their troop’s trip to this year’s West Point Jamboree.

Even though the Wakefield Rotary runs the event, it draws volunteers from throughout the area. Ed Nardone of the Westerly Lions is one example. He controls one of the entrances to the festival, handing out packets and doing his part to make the event run smoothly.

To make the event succeed, the Rotary has assembled 90 member volunteers, along with 40 of their friends and family. Over 40 Prout School students have also volunteered, mostly to man the children’s rides. They have four-hour shifts throughout the weekend.

“It will be fun,” said Kelly Wostal, 16, one of the Prout School volunteers. “I’ll help the kids, mostly on the inflatables.”

The free children’s area features a train ride and numerous inflatable playscapes. There is also a free fishing pond.

The 3,000-gallon fishing pond is stocked with 50 trout, from little six-inchers up to one large four-pounder. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management donated the fish and the water for youngsters to test their luck in ten-minute sessions.

“We use barbless hooks to avoid hurting the fish,” said Russ Betrand, who monitors the fishing pond. “They’ll be pretty street-smart by Saturday afternoon.”

The fish will be released into Barber Pond at the conclusion of the event. Donations collected at the fishing pond will be used to promote clean water initiatives in impoverished nations.

Other family-fun portions of the festival include pig and wiener-dog racing, a 4-H petting zoo, and pony rides.