Interlude Tours: Escorted Vacation in Indianapolis to see the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico
If you have ever wanted to experience the glories of a balloon festival, we have an escorted vacation coming up that features the largest such event in the world!
Scenic New Mexico and Balloon Fiesta (click here for itinerary)
October 2-9, 2010 (8 days, 7 nights )
- Escorted vacation (0% fuss, 100% vacation!)
- Includes home pickup and return (for clients in Marion and adjacent counties)
This tour features the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which is a nine-day event and the largest balloon festival in the world with about 750 balloons decorating the serene New Mexico sky. According to Wikipedia,
The balloon fiesta began in 1972 as the highlight of a 50th birthday celebration for KOB Radio. Radio station manager Dick McKee asked Sid Cutter, the first person to own a hot air balloon in New Mexico, if he would fly his balloon as part of the festivities. McKee asked what the largest gathering of hot air balloons to date had been. 19 balloons in England, Cutter replied. Kratz asked “Can we get 19 here?” Cutter agreed to try. He got commitments from 21 pilots, but bad weather kept some of them from arriving in time. The first fiesta ended up as a gathering of 13 balloons on April 8, 1972. The next year Albuquerque hosted the first World Hot-Air Balloon Championships in February and the fiesta became an international event. The Balloon Fiesta has grown each year, and today is the largest balloon convention in the world. On any given day during the festival, up to 100,000 spectators may be on the launch field where they are provided the rare opportunity to observe inflation and take off procedures. Countless more people gather at landing sites all over the city to watch incoming balloons.
The official website of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta also has a lot of great information.
Here is a very cool video of the “mass ascension” event in the Fiesta, which you will see firsthand!
Imagine yourself in the wonderful Albuquerque air, enjoying that gorgeous view! Why not give it a try? We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.
Photo by Eric Ward; used with permission.
Embedded YouTube video from geoff0522.
–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team
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Tags: ballon fiesta escorted tour, balloon festival vacation
