After wanting to go for several years, we finally made the time to go to Albuquerque, New Mexico for their annual balloon fiesta. And wow, am I glad we did!
The balloon fiesta is now in its 52nd year, with over 700 balloon pilots and their teams working hard every day for two weeks to launch their balloons every morning, and provide other fun activities in the evenings, such as a “glow”, a drone show, concerts, indigenous dancing, and skydiving.
We stayed with friends of ours who live in the area, and one of them is a “zebra”, or Launch Director, for the fiesta. They are called zebras because they wear black and white only, so they can be seen on the fields as they direct the launch of multiple balloons near them during the daily Mass Ascension.
Because balloons most frequently launch at sunrise, we had to get up very early in order to get to the festival and be in place in time for sunrise. By 5 AM, thousands of visitors were arriving at the balloon fiesta complex, getting ready for the 7 AM sunrise. We had backstage passes from our friend, so we were able to access the breakfast provided to the pilot and their teams, as well as warm up a bit in the facilities. It’s very cold in the morning before the sun comes up. Be sure to dress in layers, and even bring a blanket to wrap up in. The city of Albuquerque is at quite a high elevation, in the mornings and evenings can get very cool.
I would recommend purchasing tickets to both a morning event and an evening event, and possible a third morning or evening as back up. The tickets are fairly inexpensive at $15 for general admission, and kids 12 and under are free. Each year, one day of the festival is free for New Mexico residents. Visitors can pay for parking at the balloon complex, or can purchase Park and Ride tickets and board a bus at the nearby mall or churches.
Have you been to a huge balloon festival? If you haven’t, I definitely recommend the one in Albuquerque! Now in it’s 52nd year, it is a classic.
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