Balloon Fiesta Memories From The Past Twenty Four Years

 As a local Albuquerque resident, I have been attending the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta hot air balloon event for over 24 years. From attending as a spectator to attending as a media person, I never get bored with seeing all the colorful balloons in the sky.

 I have lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico for 26 years. I love so many things about living here. From the beautiful weather to awesome food all the way to the hot air balloons, this is a place that I am proud to call home. 

 I moved to Albuquerque in 1997 with my husband and 2 children. I moved from Salt Lake City as my husband was relocating here with a new job. I knew nothing about Albuquerque, except for the name from watching the Roadrunner cartoon show. 

 My husband went to the library in Utah and brought home a book about Albuquerque, that was written many years ago. The book showed a Native American lady cooking bread in an outdoor oven. I thought that I was moving to a place in the past.

The Land Of Enchantment 

 My family arrived in Albuquerque on Christmas Eve. The first thing that I noticed about Albuquerque was how warm the weather was. I believe the temperature was in the 60’s with no snow. I was so happy to celebrate Christmas without the cold snow. I was not a fan of snow as I had grown up in Chicago.  I was one happy girl.

The next week, I was outside and I saw a hot air balloon in the sky. It was such a pretty site. I later found out that Albuquerque was the place for hot air balloons. I attended my first hot air balloon event on Valentine’s Day but did not get to see the balloons launch as we arrived late to the event.

 I did learn about the many wonders of hot air balloons and about an event called the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. 

What is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta?

 An Event Like No Other ~ For nine days in October, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta® creates an enchanted world of special-shaped balloon rodeos, twilight balloon glows, and vibrant balloon-filled skies. Brisk autumnal mornings in the Rio Grande Valley create an otherworldly backdrop for the breathtaking majesty of our most popular event, Mass Ascension of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

My memories of The Balloon Fiesta over the Years

 I have been attending the Balloon Fiesta over the years for about 24 years. My family moved away for a couple years during this time. The first Balloon Fiesta that I can remember attending was in October 1999. I was very pregnant with my 3rd child at the time. 

 I fondly remember being amazed at all the hot air balloons and being able to see them up close. I remember my two children getting trading cards from the balloon crew folks. The one thing that is the best memory from that day of attending a show that had over 500 hot air balloons floating in the sky was my unborn child dancing inside of me to the music that was playing.

 Over the next 16 years of living in Albuquerque, my family attended the Balloon Fiesta every couple of years. It was a show that amazed me every time. I never grew tired of seeing all the colorful balloons, especially the special shapes of hot air balloons. 

 Some years we went to the show of hot air balloons in the morning to watch the Mass Accesion of balloons rising into the air. We always made sure to bring homemade breakfast burritos and hot coffee. While other years we made plans to watch the balloon Glodeo event at nighttime. My kids enjoyed watching the balloons light up in the dark.

I applied to be on the Balloon Fiesta Media Team

 Things all changed when I signed up to attend the balloon fiesta as part of the media team. It was the year 2016 and my family had grown to 5 children. I was a stay-at-home mom who was a blogger. 

 I decided to apply for the Balloon Fiesta Media Team. I was so excited when I received my approval notice. I was now able to attend this marvelous event of hot air balloons as a part of the media team. This meant that I could attend the event and share my experience with my blog readers.

The Balloon Fiesta Media have their own tent. This tent had a tower that allows photographers to see the balloons at higher levels so they could have better views of the balloons. While at the media tent, I love that I can mingle with other people who work for the media.

 I have met other bloggers, newspaper reporters, magazine editors, folks who traveled for a living, and so many other people who were there to take photos and videos of the balloons. I enjoyed learning about what other people did for a living. I also learned so much about photography.

My Balloon Fiesta Photos over the years

 Since I have been attending the Fiesta for a long time, I have seen many advances in the way folks captured the pictures of the hot air balloons. In the early 2000s, Kodak was a huge sponsor selling disposable cameras at the event. 

Then smartphones replaced the disposable camera but many people on the media team still used cameras and the new photo sponsor was Cannon. I remember the Cannon booth where they allowed you to rent a camera for the event. 

 I don’t have many photos from when I attended this event before 2016 but I have plenty of photos from then on. Most of my photos are on my website and I love looking at them. Over the years of being on the media team, I have had many different cameras and phones. I love seeing the quality of my photos improve over the years.

Check out my Balloon Fiesta Articles from over the years

https://www.momknowsbest.net/2022/10/things-to-do-at-albuquerque-balloon.html

https://www.momknowsbest.net/2022/01/albuquerque-international-balloon.html

https://www.momknowsbest.net/2019/12/the-best-ways-to-get-to-albuquerque.html

https://www.momknowsbest.net/2019/02/the-albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-will.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2016/09/biking-to-albuquerque-balloon-fiesta.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2016/10/the-albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-is-must.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2016/08/albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-is-happening.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2016/10/the-near-space-challenge-at-albuquerque.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2015/09/balloon-fiesta-starts-this-saturday.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2015/10/balloon-glow-at-albuquerque-balloon.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2015/10/having-fun-at-albuquerque-international.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2015/10/another-day-at-albuquerque-balloon.html

http://www.momknowsbest.net/2013/10/albuquerque-balloon-fiesta.html