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The balloon festival at Albuquerque in New Mexico is the biggest in
the world, and takes place every year in autumn.
These photos are from
last year, when we attended the event.
Watching over 700 balloons take
off in wave after wave is a breath-taking sight.
The launch field is organised chaos! Unlike in the UK, spectators
are allowed to walk around freely among the balloons, which makes it
a very friendly festival. When it’s time to take-off the pilots
have to exercise special care.
Looks like Smokey the Bear – wearing
his hat – launched successfully !
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Pilots and spectators come from all around the world to take part
in the festivities at Albuquerque.
The whole city seems to be taken
over by balloon crews for a 2 week period. The festival makes claim
to being “the most photographed event in the world”. The
smells of engine oil, propane, leather, and wicker mixes with the aromas
of candyfloss and roasting chicken coming from the neighbouring fairground.
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After a mass launch the early morning sky fills with balloons of all
shapes and sizes. The sounds of the burners passing overhead compete
with the noise of the inflation fans on the ground and the appreciative
noises coming from the crowds.
The organisers reckon there are tens
of thousands of spectators every year.
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The different colours on display are phenomenal, and some groups come
with 3 or 4 different balloons that fly together. Flying at Albuquerque
can be a challenge, depending on the wind direction. If the wind is
light and takes you directly over the city, landing spaces can be few
and far between. It takes a skilled pilot to put the balloon down in
a parking lot or a public park !
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Amongst the many hundreds of balloons are various eccentric ones,
including large numbers of special shapes. On the right hand photo
we have a frog and a tie-died hippy balloon flying an anti-war banner
!
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The Rainforest Tree, and the Pink Elephant. The special shaped balloons
are very popular in Albuquerque, and are probably the most photographed
balloons taking part in the festival.
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This is the “Big Daddy” of them all, and always attracts
a huge amount of attention. The flying cow is enormous. It’s
slightly difficult to see the basket in these photos, but it hangs
down beneath the cow’s belly, hanging very slightly lower than
the bottom of the legs. In the right hand photo you can see a flying
tin of dog food being inflated in the foreground !
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You can get a feel for the size of the festival from the right hand
photo – tens of thousands of people come each day. This photo
also gives a good impression of the skill needed from a pilot to take
off in such challenging conditions with hundreds of people very close
to each balloon.
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