Hopefully there is a time in every person’s life when they think to themselves, this is a once in a lifetime chance. Well, the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival is a once in a lifetime chance, and if you have the opportunity to attend, do not pass it up!

This fiesta is the largest balloon festival in the world, and it only happens once a year. It takes place every year in Albuquerque, New Mexico towards the beginning of October.

This is a nine day event where around 750 hot air balloons are launched into the air. If you come into town specifically for this event, an Albuquerque hotel would be the best place to stay and watch or participate in the balloon festival.

When coming to this unique event, you do not only get to watch all the balloons in the air, but you have the opportunity to learn about NASA aeronautics work. If you are in attendance to the festival you get to experience hands-on work with the hot air balloons.

When staying at any Albuquerque hotels, like the Sandia Courtyard Hotel, you will be given all the necessary information about the festival and you will be staying right in the action of it all. You will not be able to walk outside during any part of the balloon festival without seeing a balloon in the sky.

Tickets to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta are reasonably priced and any person, no matter the age, is invited to participate. Tickets cost $8 for anyone over the age of 12, and children 12 years old and under are admitted for free.

A once in a lifetime chance for only $8 is completely worth it, and there is also the Balloon Museum for children ages 4-12 for only $1. Depending on when and where you purchase your tickets, you can also receive several discounts. Buying tickets online is definitely a good idea!

The balloon fiesta has become so popular in the last decade that the amount of hot air balloons had to be limited to 750. This rule was established in 2000 when the number of registered balloons reached 1,019.

A Dawn Patrol was put into place in at the balloon fiesta in 1978 so the balloons could continue to fly at night. The Dawn Patrol positions lighting systems that allow the pilots of the individual balloons to see where they were going.

The Dawn Patrol is greatly appreciated because other balloonists can then see the balloons in the sky and get an early idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes.

Many local artists take advantage of the balloon fiesta to get their artwork out there and seen. They make the balloons their artwork, residents of Albuquerque can watch the artwork floating around from the comfort of their own homes.

This event is not only a hot air balloon rally, but a challenge. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta also features giant gas balloons in America’s Challenge, a long distance competition to see who can go the furthest.

Anyone from any country can enter this challenge, but the difficulty about the challenge is carrying everything you would possibly need in a tiny basket for nine days. If you land on the ground, the competition is over for you.

When the competition begins, each balloon and team is launched and introduced with cheers from the crowd as they go on their way. This is one of the many highlights of the fiesta.

There is only one thing that can interfere with the balloon festival, and that is wind. Balloons have no steering; they drift on currents, so this is the only downside to the festival. But more than anything, the wind affects those in America’s Challenge.

If you are in attendance to this festival, you will not only see the original tear drop shaped balloons, but balloons of every kind imaginable. You will see anything from giant flowers and bees holding hands, to penguins and lighthouses.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a very unique event and is something that is not seen every day. The sky is bright with colors and shapes over the nine day event.

Take the family to an Albuquerque hotel for the event, and you can all participate for a relatively low cost. You will stay busy and have a fun time learning about and riding in the hot air balloons.