The 2019 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta!
Balloon Fiesta
Up Up and Away we go into New Mexico for The 2019 International Balloon Fiesta held in Albuquerque. I’ve never seen so many colorful and incredible hot air balloons fill the skies all at once; an uplifting experience to say the least. The festival is held every year for a full week (Oct. 5 - Oct. 13) and people from all around the world descend upon Balloon Fiesta Park, right in the heart of Albuquerque. Numerous well-known companies and brands, along with some blockbuster movies, represented themselves with their own balloons. I met a woman who drove non-stop from Denver and arrived without a second of sleep. Despite the exhaustion, she powered through since she was determined not to miss out on even a minute of the festival. I was only there for one full day but I absorbed the entire festival experience, especially since it was the perfect day to go. The weather was just right and the mass ascension was underway; this is when many of the balloons rise into the sky in concert together. Let’s fly together through this incredible journey to show you first hand what it looked like from the field.
DAWN PATROL
My alarm went off at 3:30 am on the morning of Wednesday, October 9, 2019 and I struggled to get out of bed. Despite not being a usual time for me to wake up, the 1 hour time change did not help either. I drove to Balloon Fiesta Park and Museum, which was only a 10 minute drive from where we were staying. One of the perks of this festival is that because Albuquerque isn’t that big of a city, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes to get to the field from any of the fully-packed hotels in the area. We arrived to a line of cars entering the field at 4 am and paid a parking fee of $10 to get in. There are two entrances to get to the field: one that leads into the parking lot of the Balloon Museum and the other via Balloon Fiesta Parkway. I was there for media coverage so I went through the Balloon Museum entrance which was relatively quick and easy. I would highly recommend getting there before 6 am so you can witness what’s called The Dawn Patrol. I had envisioned Dawn Patrol as balloons that had police emblems on them with badges and/or sirens. Ha! They were actually real balloons flown by professional balloonists (hey, it’s a real word!) to gauge the air temperature and wind for the day. Obviously, if it’s extremely windy, the balloons can’t fly (which just so happened the very next day). Anyways, the Dawn Patrol went up before the sun rose and it was my personal favorite part of the day. They lit up the balloons against the dark sky and it was a glow in the dark vision. The colors were dancing across the dim lit sky and it was incredible to witness. They would light up the balloons in synchronicity. Clearly, the air that day was perfect so thus we move onto the mass ascension…
THE MASS ASCENSION
The highlight of the day is The Mass Ascension which starts around 7 am. It’s when the majority of the balloons (well over 400) all rise up together and take flight. It was magical to walk around and watch each group work diligently and passionately to prepare for their ascension. In one area, I saw a Captain America Balloon, a Nature’s Valley Balloon, a Fight against Breast Cancer Balloon (the month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness month) and a company called The Rainbow Ryders (which allows anyone from the crowd to purchase a ride up in one). Balloons of all different shapes and sizes (some shaped like a dog, a fish, and a flying pig!) all filled the sky and it looked like a painting when most of them were high up. The colors that filled the morning sky as the sun was coming up is a picture in my mind that I will never forget. Because I was there for only one day of the festival, I didn’t have enough time to go up in a balloon, which wasn’t discouraging because the view from where I stood was surreal in itself. A feeling of pure joy overcame me and I was in complete and utter bliss. Hands down, this was one of the top experiences on my Wonder List ever. You have to be there to understand what I mean. I don’t think these pictures do enough justice but they do give you some insight into just how special it is.
The Balloon Glow/ Night Magic Glow
The Balloon Glow at night happens every other night and on select nights, they have a “Special Shapes” glow with all sorts of animals and characters from pop culture represented. It’s a great way to see the colors light up the night sky, especially with the fun and colorful characters flying around. On the last weekend of the festival, they have the balloon glows followed by fireworks and music. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to stay for that but the photos looked incredible from the website so be sure to check them out HERE.
