Fall is my favorite time of year. I love that the weather is getting cooler, the garden harvesting begins and the smell of roasting green chile is everywhere. Not to mention, there are a lot of activities in the city during fall. There are the Corrales Harvest Festival, Balloon Fiesta, art festivals, corn mazes and haunted houses to visit. Our next upcoming event is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. If you have never been before or if you haven’t been in ten years you should consider going. It has a fun family friendly atmosphere and is one of our nation’s top festivals to go to. This festival has something for everyone in the family!
Balloonists on the approach for the key grab - an event where balloonists attempt to grab keys placed at the top of poles located around a large grass field. The prizes are, of course, cars and trucks!
The Mass Ascension takes place on October 1 at about 7:15 a.m. This is an ascension of all of the balloons (hundreds!). It usually happens in two waves and it seems to me like the number of balloonists gets larger every year. You’ll want to get there early to park and find a good spot to watch the launch. We usually get to the park by 6 a.m.
A large grass field provides the launch site for hundreds of balloons. Fiesta goers mill about watching and cheering as balloons lift off.
Balloon Glows are my favorite part of balloon fiesta. Balloons fire their burners and light up at the same time. It really is quite spectacular. My son loves the special shapes rodeo where he gets to see the Darth Vader balloon along side with a cow, a witch and many other ‘odd’ shaped balloons.
Special shapes balloon include Darth Vader, the Creamland Cow, Sunshine, the Orient Express Train, pigs, bees, laydbugs and many, many more!
When is all of this fun starting? Tomorrow! October 1-9
Click here for a schedule of events.
If you live near a bike trail consider riding your bike all the way to entrance. The balloon fiesta offers a FREE bike valet service that is AWESOME! We use the bike valet every year and save $10 on parking. More to come about that on our next post.
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The Wellness Experiment 