TEMECULA -- The hot-air balloon is the adopted symbol of Temecula. But for the most part, the floating aircraft take off and land outside of the city limits as they navigate through Wine Country, east of Temecula.

On Friday night, however, the elephantine bubbles found a home in the heart of the city as residents took part in the inaugural "Aglow in the Park" event at Ronald Reagan Sports Park on Rancho Vista Road.

While hundreds of residents descended on the park, the main attractions were three giants that lumbered in the green grass of the park. But it seemed like they might never get up.

The envelopes of the multicolored balloons were unfurled and lifeless. The baskets were empty and tipped onto their sides. As dusk began to settle over the valley, the wind continued to gust -- making the conditions too unpredictable for the 60-foot-tall balloons to be inflated.

But just as all the light emptied out of the sky, a small army began to wake the beasts. Fans began to breathe shape into the canopies and then the throats of the burners were opened, the balloons were off the ground.

Audrey Crookshaw, 8, of Temecula raced around as the light of the burner flame would illuminate not only the fabric of the balloons but the faces of the people gathered underneath them. It wasn't necessarily the balloon she was impressed with.

"I like the fire more," she said giving two thumbs up. "I think it would be really hot (to ride in one). I got hot when I was got close to it."

The idea for the balloon-glow event was spurred by Rusty and Cherise Manning, owners of A Grape Escape, which conducts balloon rides in Wine Country.

"We wanted to let the kids see the balloons firsthand and to get a little more educated about ballooning," said Cherise Manning.

In addition to the glow, the city provided music, crafts and food vendors. The evening would also mark the culmination of the Summer Movies in the Park series, a free event where family films are projected onto a mobile movie screen that moved locations throughout the city's parks.

"It's a lot like the balloon glow at the Balloon & Wine Festival, but on a much smaller scale. This is designed to be a family event where the kids can get up close to the hot air balloons," said Dawn Adamiak, event coordinator with the city of Temecula. "This is just another event we are trying to provide our residents. We'll see how it goes, but I'm thinking this might become an annual event."

Some of the families attending were more expansive than others. Joie and Richard Powers of Temecula were set up at the park in proper picnic fashion as four generations of their family enjoyed the evening together.

"These community events are so cool," Joie Powers said as she balanced a plate of food in one hand, while helping her grandson find items for a scavenger hunt with the other. "After we bought our home here, we discovered how wonderful this community is. Nights like this just make us feel so lucky to be here."

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.