The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is prepared to fill the New Mexico sky with vibrant displays.
A drone light show and a mass ascent of hot air balloons are set to kick off the celebration on Saturday at sunrise. Locals and tourists are anticipated to enjoy a cavalcade of vibrant and unique-shaped balloons over the course of nine days.
The yearly event has grown to be a significant economic engine for the state’s largest metropolis. The Rio Grande river and the surrounding mountains provide as stunning backdrops to the fiesta, which started in 1972 when a few pilots launched 13 balloons from an open lot close to a shopping mall on the outskirts of Albuquerque.
With its new home at Balloon Fiesta Park, the fiesta has developed into one of the world’s most photographed occasions. Cartoon animals, Star Wars icons, and even the polar bear found on Klondike bars have been used in balloon designs.
“But they’re still all about the basics,” said Sam Parks, the fiesta’s director, who flies a balloon in the shape of a globe that was inspired by the late Sid Cutter, who founded the event. You go up by adding heat to a large bag of air.
The festival had about 830,000 visitors from all over the world the previous year. Fireworks and balloon glows, in which hot air balloons are inflated and illuminated from the ground, are among the scheduled evening events.
The Gordon Bennett competition, one of the biggest events in aviation, has a launch window that opens on Saturday night. The gas balloon that travels the longest distance wins the race.
This year, over 550 balloon pilots have signed up to fly in an effort to take advantage of the “Albuquerque box,” a phenomena where the wind blows in the opposite directions at different elevations and enables skilled pilots to bring a balloon back to a location close to the place of departure.
Visitors to the event can also pay to ascend for views of Santa Fe farther to the north and the Sandia Mountains to the west.
It’s now ingrained in the culture, according to Parks. “The common thread, if you will, of those gathered here.”
