Due to shrinking landing site availability, the number of hot air balloons is now limited. In there were about 10, guests that viewed the first Balloon Fiesta. Hundreds of thousands of guests visit Balloon Fiesta each year, and hundreds of thousands more fans watch the balloons from outlying areas and on TV. New in , fans around the world can now watch the event online via Balloon Fiesta Live! The Balloon Fiesta has not only grown in numbers of balloons and guests but in the number of unique events as well.
These additions have grown to become guest favorites. In , and again in , AIBF hosted the annual Coupe de Gordon Bennett, the world's oldest and most prestigious gas balloon race that dates back to The genesis of the 1st balloon Fiesta occurred while planning the KOB 50th Anniversary party the following spring, Susan Johnson, then promotional director for the station, was looking for a centerpiece of her own to celebrate this important birthday for the station.
She found Sid Cutter flying the "club" balloon which had been purchased by the founders of the Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association now the largest local balloon club in the world. The relationship between KOB and Sid Cutter was cemented and the idea of a balloon race began to take shape. With very little time, but an enormous wealth of enthusiasm, Sid Cutter, Don, and Mike Draper and Tom Rutherford of KOB, set about putting together the largest balloon race in the world at that time, and invited 21 balloons to attend the event.
Last-minute cancellations and a miserable storm in the Midwest limited the participants to 13 balloons, but each and everyone was given red carpet treatment and put on a show for some 10,, spectators that Albuquerque would never forget.
The pilots came from Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and Texas and they left with the impression that Albuquerque was a wonderful place to fly and that it had about the most hospitable bunch of people you'd ever want to find. This is the most magnificent event in Albuquerque. Seeing the balloons up close is among the highlights of the festival experience says Director of Operations Sam Parks. And some keep coming back, like me! Search Search. Home United States U.
Africa 54 - November 11, VOA Africa Listen live. VOA Newscasts Latest program. VOA Newscasts. Previous Next. October 18, AM. Julie Taboh. Balloon flows and glows In the evening, about balloons lit up the sky with balloon glows followed by spectacular fireworks. Get Adobe Flash Player. Embed share The code has been copied to your clipboard. The URL has been copied to your clipboard.
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