NATCHEZ — With three fire-filled balloons looming overhead, and the mighty Mississippi behind, 8-year-old Abby Pruitt had a new perspective on her place in the world.

“They make you feel so tiny,” she said.

Pruitt, who attended the balloon glow Friday night with her grandparents and two cousins, is a big fan of the rides, the spectacle and pretty much the whole event.

“I like doing the stuff, seeing it, mostly everything,” Pruitt said.

“I like the concert and cotton candy and the fireworks” her cousin, Madalyn Jones, 7, said.

“Oh yeah, the fireworks, too,” Pruitt said. “And funnel cake.”

Mary and Keith Pruitt brought their granddaughters Abby, Madalyn and Shelby Jones to the glow because Mary said it’s fun for the children and the grandparents.

Mary said she was impressed by this year’s glow, because the calm winds allowed for more balloons to fill up closer together.

Karen Kent, a balloon pilot, offered her crewing services to another balloon team at the glow because her balloon was resting until morning.

For approximately an hour, Kent, a slender woman, pulled a rope connected to the top of a balloon to her hip and leaned her weight down on it. Every so often the rope pulled her almost off the ground and relocated her few feet away.

“It’s a lot more work,” Kent said of crewing a glow.

“But it’s the part the spectators like.”

Kent said she enjoys seeing the amazed looks on peoples’ faces, and remembers that the awe of seeing and riding in a hot-air balloon in 1994 is what got her hooked to the sport.

“As soon as I got off the ground, I knew I wanted to do this,” Kent said.

Patti Jenkins, a Natchez native, said she has never missed balloon race and loves the glow.

“It’s all about getting to get out and bring the babies out and showing them something really neat and interesting,” Jenkins said.

When the balloons deflated and crew members rolled them up to fit perfectly inside the baskets — the show was not nearly finished.

By the time the fireworks started, hundreds of people had made a gradual pivot from east to west — balloons to river — to see the next pyrotechnical exhibit.

A wave of children popped up on their fathers’ shoulders.

“I like it when its raining fireworks,” 6-year-old Kailani Cirilo said.

Jason Gains, a pilot who was helping crew one of the balloons because his was not part of the glow, said he enjoys the fun, laid-back spirit of the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race in Natchez.

Although he said balloons were meant to fly and keeping them down was a bit of a hassle and not very fuel efficient, his childhood memories remind him why its worth it.

“When I was a little kid I used to go to the glows, and I loved it,” Gains said.