The 2000s

In 1981, at the dedication of Cutter Field, Sid Cutter mentioned that the “new” launch site was big enough so the Balloon Fiesta could have 1,000 balloons! It was a somewhat bold statement, and not entirely popular with some balloonists who felt 1,000 was a few hundred too many. But in the year 2000, the Balloon Fiesta Board decided that – just this once! – they’d open the fl oodgates to 1,000 colorful aerostats. “1,000 in 2000” became the battle cry, and sure enough, in 2000 more than 1,000 balloons took to the skies in Albuquerque (the number is variously estimated at 1,003 to 1,019).

It was a spectacular sight, but the skeptics proved to be right. One thousand was too many, both logistically and given the dwindling availability of places for balloonists to land – and recent Balloon Fiestas have been limited to around 600 balloons. But if there was any question that Albuquerque is the hot air balloon capital of the world, the 2000 Balloon Fiesta settled the question and set a record for the number of balloons

2000 launched in a single event. 2000 brought new events and changes in other areas. After years of it being too windy in the afternoons for the special shape balloons to fl y, the Balloon Fiesta gave up on that idea and turned both evening special shape events into Glowdeos – with record attendance resulting. The Special Shape Rodeo on Thursday and Friday now consisted of morning mass ascension/competition fl ights for the shapes, and two evening Glowdeos. New competition events, including the Double Drop and Balloon Fiesta Golf, challenged pilots. The Fiesta of Wheels Car Show was a new and popular addition, as was grass added to the south end of the fi eld. The 2000 Balloon Fiesta proved to be an unusually wet one – so wet that at one point the local TV stations sent their news helicopters to hover over and dry the fi eld. But the weather pattern proved to be great for distance gas balloon fl ights: David and Alan Levin fl ew nearly 2,000 miles to set a new America’s Challenge record.

The Balloon Fiesta hit the ripe old age of 30 in 2001 and more change was in the air, along with the 668 hot air balloons, 20 gas balloons, and 82 special shapes registered that year. A new event, Albuquerque Aloft, brought balloons to local schools on the Friday before the event’s offi cial start on Saturday – a great way for kids to learn about balloons and pilots to get their equipment sorted out and ready to go for the next day’s mass ascension. A new long distance event (or “long jump” in ballooning lingo), the New Mexico Challenge, gave hot air balloon pilots the chance to see how far they could travel in a single fl ight (hint: a lot less far than the America’s Challenge gas balloons). Competition featured a new event, Balloon Blackjack, where pilots tried to make the best possible hand by dropping markers on giant playing cards. The Balloon Fiesta moved into its current permanent headquarters a couple of blocks from Balloon Fiesta Park at Alameda Rd. and Balloon Museum Dr. And, 2001 was Kodak’s last year as the event’s title sponsor.

But all this was quickly overshadowed by the events of September 11, 2001, when all aircraft – including balloons – were grounded in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. For a couple of weeks, it looked like there might not be a Balloon Fiesta at all. Through the eff orts of New Mexico’s congressional delegation, state and city leaders, and the Balloon Fiesta Board and staff , the fl ight restrictions were lifted in time for the show to go on.

But inevitably, the tone of the Balloon Fiesta changed: too many had lost friends and too many others their sense of safety. New security measures were in place (the Black Hawk military

2001 helicopter hovering nearby being one of the more visible), most U.S. pilots fl ew American Flags from their baskets or crown lines, and the America’s Challenge gas balloon pilots were greeted suspiciously upon their landings in the U.S. upper Midwest (at least one was ordered to report to law enforcement). But the Balloon Fiesta provided a catharsis for a wounded city and nation and a triumphant reminder that life goes on, and can even be colorful and fun.

helicopter hovering nearby being one of the more visible), most U.S. pilots fl ew American Flags from their baskets

2002

2003

Ask long-time Balloon Fiesta guests and pilots about the change they feel had the greatest impact on people’s perception and enjoyment of the event, and most will point to something that happened in 2002. This is the year the 78-acre Balloon Fiesta Park launch fi eld was fully grassed for the fi rst time. All of a sudden, the launch site was a place people really wanted to be – to have picnics and family gettogethers, to tailgate, to hang around for shopping on Main Street. And it kept the balloons from getting so dusty. It’s a seemingly little thing, but oh, what a diff erence it made!

After the trauma of 2001, the Balloon Fiesta felt a little more “normal” in 2002. Security was more visible than ever before, but that made people feel safer. Behind the scenes, an alphabet soup of federal, state, and local agencies worked together to keep it that way, an interagency eff ort that continues to this day. There were no big new events, just the magic of special shapes, glowing balloons, and mass ascensions – and in a year where the theme said it all, the need for the people of the world to unite, that was enough.

In its early years, the Balloon Fiesta was never able to do much to enhance its amenities for guests. The event was a guest itself, on whoever’s property the launch site was located, and could not install much in the way of permanent infrastructure.

That, of course, changed when the current Balloon Fiesta Park opened. Sponsors had always received VIP treatment in a catered tent on the fi eld, presided over by the Balloon Fiesta’s longtime hospitality doyenne, Jacqueline Hockey. But there had never been anything available for Balloon Fiesta guests who were not affi liated with a sponsor, but wanted a luxury experience.

That changed in 2003 with the opening of the Gondola Club, an exclusive, expansive area with catered gourmet dining, special close-in parking, shuttle service around the fi eld, and – best of all! – (portable) fl ush toilets! Gondola Club tickets are still in high demand today, as are the Balloon Fiesta’s new Concierge tours, “Glamping” accommodations on a nearby ball fi eld, and RV spaces in the President’s Compound overlooking the park. In 2009, the Chasers’ Club was created to off er meals and seating for guests at a lower price point.

Events continued to evolve at Balloon Fiesta as the decade continued. The New Mexico Challenge hot air balloon distance race ended and was replaced the next year by an additional competition fl ight, the Fiesta Challenge. Other new events, such as the Fiesta del Vino for wine connoisseurs, thrived.

The Balloon Fiesta also added a Salute to Veterans in 2004, which over the years has evolved into a much larger opening ceremony honoring our country and also balloonists and others who have passed on. Recently, the ceremony has included a “candlestick” glow, where pilots turn on their burners and shoot 20-foot fl ames into the sky, at the end of the National Anthem as the “Balloon of the Day” takes the fl ag aloft. This salute often also includes a military or civilian aircraft fl yover of the fi eld,

2004 and pays fi tting tribute to our fellow balloonists and our military veterans.

In 2004, Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis won the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, the fi rst American team to do so in 12 years. Carol became the fi rst, and still the only, woman to ever win the race. Their victory gave Albuquerque the chance to host the Gordon Bennett in 2005. But this time, instead of cancelling the Balloon Fiesta’s America’s Challenge gas balloon race, it was decided to hold both events together, with the Gordon Bennett competitors launching fi rst, followed by the America’s Challenge teams. The spectacular result was the largest gas balloon competitive event ever held in North America. Twenty-six teams – 14 competing in the Gordon Bennett and 12 in the America’s Challenge – took fl ight in one of the most thrilling distance races in history. The Gordon Bennett champions, Bob Berben and Benoît Siméons of Belgium, fl ew 3,400.39 km (2,113 miles), landing

2005 near the east coast of Quebec and setting a Gordon Bennett distance record that still stands. America’s Challenge victors Janet Folkes and Bill Arras landed in Ontario, fl ying nearly 1,500 miles.

The other major event of 2005 was the opening of the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, located just up the hill behind the south end of the launch fi eld. The museum, run by the City of Albuquerque (not the Balloon Fiesta, as many think) features the science, art, and history of ballooning. Its large collection of artifacts include balloon gondolas used for record-setting fl ights, a weather lab, interactive exhibits for children, and – this year – special exhibits on the Balloon Fiesta’s 50 year history and Balloon Fiesta founder Sid Cutter. The Museum is open extended hours during the Balloon Fiesta.