Hi Judy,

I will be there for the first weekend.  Very much looking forward to this event.  I've been to a Hot Air Balloon festival in Colorado Springs, but I'm sure this is so much bigger.

No RV for me yet so I'll be staying in a hotel up in Santa Fe.  I also hope their is no rain.

Tina

Antioch, Ca

We will be there from the 9th to the 14th. We will be with the Beaver group and in festival parking.

Planning on volunteering with a crew and taking a lot of pictures.

Mike

If you can, sign up to crew a balloon. It's great fun and usually the crew gets to go on a ride over the weekend. We did it last year at the Gallup festival and it was great - except for the -7 degrees the first morning. Fred

I quess I'm beating Judy to posting the results of the 1st day at Balloon Fiesta. IT WAS GREAT. It was a wonderful morning. The wind waited until the last balloons were up and the temp was warm. All I needed was a T shirt and sweat shirt at the begining and soon was just wearing the T shirt. I'm not sure but I would guess that about 400-500 balloons made it up. It sure is a sight to see all the balloons in the sky with all the colors and shapes. Susan and Steve, DD and SIL from Tampa sure enjoyed it. It was Steves first Fiesta and I think he took about 140 photos. Judy on the other hand only takes photos of new special shapes that she doesn't have a photo of yet. She took maybe 6 photos. The event was spectacular and would suggest anyone planning a Oct vacation to consider it. You have to plan several days in case Mother Nature does not cooperate. The nice thing about ABQ is that if one day isn't nice you can bet the next one will be. We have over 300 sunny days a year. I'm sure Judy will post more later. Bob

Just beginning to wrap up the festival today.

I crewed 2 days for a shape balloon, Bud E. Beaver. Had a great time but it was a BIG balloon. 2 days of flights and 1 night glow. Friday evening was too windy for the big guys to stand up.

Probably took 200 pictures and generally enjoyed the area. We did park on the grounds so we didn't have to spend hours traveling to and from.

Highly recommend the experience.

MIke

The Ballon fiesta is a fabulous event and participating in whatever way possible is a great addition to the experience.  Safety is always a big concern at these events because people get carried away by the moment and somehow the very careful person can take unnecessary risks.  Once again this year I believe many launched in marginal wind conditions (10 mph or greater) and once again their was an life lost in an "accident".  The problem is that we don't want to face the fact that the wind doesn't blow at a constant speed, there are gusts, altitude can be windier than the ground, and when the sun comes up thermals caused wildly varying winds off the mountains.

A balloon ride is a fantastic experience as is the festival and all that goes with it.  Please don't take a chance if you feel the least bit nervous about the conditions or the crew.  Your life is worth more than that.

Just thought reality needs to check in.
Glad you all had a great week.

Larry and Jacki

What tickets package is best if your in a RV? Do you need to attend each and every session? We want to go next year but are totally unfamiliar with the event and the best way to enjoy. Any info will be appreciated.

We have registered for the whole event and are going to be going with/through the Escapers HOP. Thought the cost was reasonable and don't have to worry about planning much! Think you can "go with the flow" and only go to the stuff you want to.