Yahoo Movies It started with 13 hot-air balloons — now New Mexico fiesta is the biggest in the world
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, known as the biggest hot-air balloon festival in the world, is coming back to the state Oct. 1-9.
Tickets cost $15 per anyone over age 12 and are free for those under 5, and the Balloon Fiesta offers “glamping” at a cost for those who’d like to stay in a three-night safari-style tent during the festival, according to its website.
For over 40 years, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has filled the air with the smell of street vendors and an array of brightly colored hot-air balloons.
History of Balloon Fiesta
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta began with 13 hot-air balloons in 1972 and has grown to become the world’s largest festival of its kind, according to the Balloon Fiesta’s history page on its website.
What was once 13 balloons in the Coronado mall in Albuquerque has become a week in October where over 600 balloons and 700 pilots are featured, festival officials said.
In 2011, founder of the festival Sid Cutter died, festival officials said. He created the event by accident.
In 1971, a year before the first official balloon fiesta, Cutter tied hot-air balloons together to celebrate his mother’s birthday, according to the Hall of Fame page on the fiesta’s website. A balloon came untied, and he fell in love.
The next year, “Sid was asked to organize a balloon event to celebrate KOB Radio’s 50th anniversary,” officials said. This marked the first ever balloon fiesta.
A year after the Balloon Festival began, 13 countries participated in “First World Hot-Air Balloon Championship,” which was held at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds, according to the website.
Now, more than 750,000 people attend the balloon festival each year, according to the Visit Albuquerque website.
What to expect
The festival brings an array of foods from breakfast burritos to green chile cheeseburgers so be sure to bring your appetite while watching the hundreds of balloons float throughout the air, according to the festival’s concessions page.
A video on TikTok shows the different types of balloons floating throughout the air during the festival’s Special Shape Rodeo. Cactus, soccer ball and jack-o-lantern hot-air balloons can be seen in the video.
@chyanngarcia96 Balloon fiest #nm #albquerque #fyp #foryou #ballonfiesta2021 #foryoupage #newmexico Taylor Songs Mashup - taylro
The Special Shape Rodeo began in 1989 and is now the most popular event at balloon fiesta, according to the website. It launches on Thursday and Friday during the afternoons.
Other attendees’ favorites will also be on display during this year’s fiesta.
Mass Ascension, which has been featured in the fiesta since the beginning, showcases hundreds of balloons flying through the sky together, according to the website. The balloons launch in two waves and begin at about 7 a.m. on days they are scheduled to fly.
Another TikTok user shares their tips and tricks for attending the festivities.
@travelingness8 Traveling to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival for the first time? Tips for attending the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta! #albuquerque #albuquerqueballoonfestival #albuquerqueballoonfiesta #newmexico #balloonfestival #hotairballoon #bucketlist #traveltiktok #traveltips #bucketlisttravel #newmexicotrue #travel #balloonfiesta Happy (From "Despicable Me 2") - Pharrell Williams
Go to more than one session in case the wind picks up
Make sure to attend Mass Ascension and Special Shape Rodeo
Dress in layers as the weather changes abruptly
Be sure to bring sunscreen, sunglasses and water
Photos are a must
If you want to ride in a balloon, book in advance
Temperatures range from around 20 to 40 degrees in the morning and warm up to about 50 to 70 degrees in the afternoon, according to officials. The park is about 360 acres, and the launch field is roughly 80 acres.
