Liftoff at Albuquerque balloon festival in New Mexico
Albuquerque balloon festival New Mexico USA Put a thousand giant, brightly colored hot air balloons in the same place on a perfect October morning, have them rise all at once into New Mexico's impossibly blue sky, and you have one of the man-made wonders of the world. This is why, at some point in your life, you have to get to Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta. The annual nine-day event has come a long way since the first Fiesta in 1972, when a guy named Sid Cutter helped organize a balloon festival to celebrate local radio station KOB-AM's 50 years on the air. About a dozen balloons showed up and were launched from a shopping mall parking lot in town. The next year 138 balloons were entered, representing 13 countries, and in 1978, Albuquerque played host to the world's largest ballooning event with 273 participants. At this year's Fiesta, which runs October 7 to 15, organizers expect an even thousand.
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Photo credit: © Chad Ehlers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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