The Magic of a Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

600+ balloons in the Land of Enchantment

Albuquerque, New Mexico is celebrating its annual International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta with over 600 balloons and over a million visitors for the 9 day event.

Magical.

That’s the one word that never fails to enter my mind as I stand on an open field surrounded by hundreds of hot air balloons and thousands of people.

Balloons are everywhere you look. They’re next to you on the ground in every stage of preparation for launching into the air. Some are just feet above the ground after finally lifting off, and others are high above scattered across the sky in every direction.

There is nothing like being in the midst of hundreds of hot air balloons taking to the sky just after dawn patrol while the sun slowly, quietly, softly rises from behind the Sandia mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Thousands of people fill the balloon fiesta park. All having risen in the dark early hours of the morning to make it to see the drone show, morning glow, and dawn patrol before the 7am mass ascension.

My family left our home at 4:45am. The kids were up early at 3am like it was Christmas morning. I was last to be out the door and was thinking,

‘They aren’t this eager to wake up for school or church’

I know, a total mom thought.

But like I said, it’s magical being in the midst of hundreds of hot air balloons in all shapes and colors rising in the early morning hours, and it only happens in early October.

Beautiful.

Beautiful is the other word that consistently comes to mind every year. Magical and beautiful.

“They’re all so beautiful!”

is repeated by different kids to me all morning long.

Dreams of going up in a basket for a ride are shared amongst one another.

Everyone wraps up close in blankets and enjoys the warmth from the fire shooting into a nearby balloon that is getting filled up to launch.

It never gets old.

If you’ve never been to the largest hot air balloon show in the world, you should put it on your bucket list! It’s held every October just as the weather has cooled and the aspens are changing color. A breakfast burrito with New Mexico’s famous red or green chile, under a sky of fun shapes and a rainbow of colors, will be your best breakfast ever!

Check out this video to get a glimpse of the magic!